I am yet another reflection of myself,
a recursive self reference of an image
caught in two parallel, plane mirrors
facings each other. A tedious multiplication
of myself, my images, and myself.
I come before and after myself many times,
stacked in a linear array of confusion.
I am a recollection of all that I've thought.
But I have hopes, just as I have despairs,
for there is a point where everything vanishes
at the bottom of these mirrors. Each mirror
hiding a treasure of infinity.
The burden of twin infinities bound
between the finite spacings of these mirrors
can be solved only between these mirrors,
in the realm of the real,
which for all I know, may not exist,
but must retain its existence out of
sheer necessity. I think of reality
as a place where there's no reflections,
no countless imitation, no confusion,
a place where an object is absolute and singular.
My mind is these mirrors that reflect myself,
and this reality to me is fiction.
I alternate between the two worlds
of the two mirrors, which really is the same world,
as a creature of light trapped in a crystal prison.
Time to me is dead and has no motion.
Time is the dull walls of these glasses
That freeze everything in its crystal control.
But mind is not ruled by time but space;
For time is this space where I exist.
This space stretches only as far
as my thoughts can stretch it,
and the removal of space that separates
the two mirrors, the union of two mirrors,
would mean the end of space,
and hence the end of time,
and hence the end of my existence.
14 July, 2007
Author notes
here the mirrors symbolize the mind whereas the reflections symbolize our thoughts. the speaker is one of the images inside the mirror.
this is a continuation of my objectives of my last poem "Old Songs". i'm trying to move away from the image dominated poetry to idea dominated poetry.
MIRROR MIRROR
A contest entry
- Mirror Mirror by Converse Queen.
500 points, ended August 1, 2007, 40 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 9 of 9
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i don't know what to say.
this is the calibur of writing and transcendent thinking that i dream of stumbling upon in this forum, but never actually expect to find.
you inspire me! - NANGALEEMA
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The balance and form of this piece work so well with the metaphoric 'mirror' theme. You've explained your ideas very well; thought-provoking, not overly 'leading' to the reader, and with enough concrete imagery to prevent it being simply internal thought (which, to my mind, doesn't function so well to communicate with others; objects and experiences are the 'shared' enabling the poet to clarify their personal thoughts and need to be present to some extent).
An extremely well crafted piece. I really enjoyed it.
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Outstanding
I liked all the philosophy in this poem. You challenge the reader with an intricate, thought provoking sequence of images, stretching definitions of time and space. I liked the concept of the mirrors as a metaphor of the mind and the way you use language in such a creative way. I especialy liked the line:
I am a recollection of all that I've thought.
This poem reminded me of how T.S. Elliot explores concepts of time in his poetry. An original, perceptive poem.
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good write
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Great
Manoguru that was great.... I like reading your poetry because it is of a different genre to any poem that I would write. Hence it is something new to me every time that I read and not set to a specific structure, and rhyme, which my words are always and would be.
Your words are always full of personal spirituality , and philosophy, which I am not sure that others ever realise.
Are you Buddhist? You sometimes come across as being so!
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lol, this is perhaps the best compliment i've ever had. and coming from someone like you who is an accomplished poet in his own right, makes you comments more worthier.
i think the difference in our writing stems from the difference in our reading habits (who we read, what we read, etc) and the role models we adopt. this poem arose as a result of trying to reading and translate the poetry of Jorge Luis Borges. i wouldn't compare myself with him, but this was an attempt to walk in his footsteps.
as for my being buddhist, i'm a hindu by birth and that's what i am in all my official documents. but at heart i am a buddhist. actually, in nepal, and in kathmandu in particular, the difference between hinduism and buddhism is so blurred that until i was 15 years old, when i started reading the buddhist texts, i didn't know that these two were two distinct religions.
thank you very much for the wonderful comment.
manoguru
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good job on this piece, i loved it, it was beautiful the flow was good, and over all excellent, good job and i wish you the best of luck in this contest,
beautifuldisasterxx -
The metaphor of mirrors and reflections is excellent here. What does happen if we’re trapped between two mirrors? This is a fascinating read. Well done.
Love,
Amera ♥
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thank you, Amera. i didn't know what to make of this poem. i didn't know if people will even like it. and this may be my first fulfledged philosophical poem. i'm glad that you liked it.
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