Look

I look:

blurred mirror

unfocused gaze

or forming tear.

I look

to find myself

instead

see someone else:

empty black pupils

windows to darkness

quiet green eyes

blight a tired pale face.

Gentle long lashes

around eyes

and inside—

the hidden side:

the figure’s mind.

Brows still

objective

hesitant to tilt.

No smile.

No frown.

No bitter baring

of teeth.

Only closed lips

level

complacent.

White

a sheet of ice

reflected from glass

always staring back.

Whoever you are

I will not look away.

I’ll look

and I’ll love

the one I don’t know.

---

How often do you look in the mirror? Are you ever surprised by who you see when you step in front of it?

There come times when we have difficulty recognizing ourselves—not that we physically change, but we have moments of realization mixed with reminiscence. We remember who we were several years ago and see that we are much different now. Sometimes that is a difficult truth to accept, especially if our reflection is not especially flattering. But it is important to step in front of the mirror, look deeply at who we see, and acknowledge them—even love them. Not that we accept whatever they may have morphed into, but that we are able to see they are worth putting effort into. They are worthy of your attention. If you aren’t pleased with who you see perhaps that means they desperately need your attention. Perhaps they need to be seen and guided away from who they’ve become.

Don’t give up on the figure in the mirror, no matter how foreign they may seem to you. Without a reflection, how will you know what other people see when they look at you?

Hope Mixes

—The Translator