Mirror

A mirror confirms my existence, captures my breath, a trembling eye, the very fact of me. Still here then.

A mirror traps or contains. Fear. Safety. An entrance, an exit. To a world known or unknown. Where occasionally panicked crows choke the sky. Mirrored words, said and unsaid, rising, flapping.

A mirror is all inwardness. A Keeper of Change.

Picture credit: The Mirror, 1885, William Merritt Chase (source: WikiArt).

Acknowledgement to Simon Armitage.

From journal, July 2023.

Left

Always turning left when told to head straight. Always turning left when told to go right. Always turning left in every area of life. Even the body follows that command, go left, go left. Unusual. Uncommon. Atypical. Natural or imposed, against impulse. Always left. The hand that writes, the leg that leads. An alien landscape for so many.

Picture credit: Woman with a Parasol, also known as Study of a Figure Outdoors Facing Left, 1886, Claude Monet (source: WikiArt).

From journal, July 2023.

Voice

Distinguishing truth a challenge, surreal times.

Where is the voice or voices really telling it like it is? Always something made up, faked, misinterpreted.

Who can understand the complex workings of minds? Chemically, emotionally? Too individual. Begged and borrowed. Fluid.

Picture credit: Freeing the Voice, 1975, Marina Abramovic (source: WikiArt).

Inspired by Jackie Kay's introduction to Bessie Smith.

Written June 2023.