Am I no more than a mirror?
I reflect.
I reflect pale Narcissus.
Bending to my fluid face.
He sees only his own beauty
Reflected in my eyes.
I reflect Don Juan
Who sees in my adoring gaze
Confirmation of his power
Over women caught in the headlight glare
Of his own masculinity.
I reflect the joker in the pack,
The card, Jack the lad,
Who in my quick responses,
My loud applause, will never see a bore
Reflected in the prompt screen I hold up.
I reflect the aesthete,
Appreciate his finer points;
Frame his sensibilities; read him like a book
Represent to him his muse,
Put value on his higher consciousness.
I reflect the workman;
Celebrate his solid practicality
By comments on his skill
And admiration of his labours,
Wonder at the use he makes of tools.
One day
I shall reflect
Upon the image of myself
In the bright bronze shield
Carried by a man who angles it on me
And I’ll not be turned to stone.
Janice Windle
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/journey-inwards-collection-reflecting-or-not-medusa/
