Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Mirror
Tasnova Choudhury
I
The young child lit up.
He saw a friend in his reflection
And raised his sippy-cup
To cheer on the other.
II
She caught sight of her figure
In the puddles created by the storms.
What beauty sprouts from the destruction.
A modern-day narcissus forms.
III
In sudden flight,
she ran out of the house,
not before glimpsing
the unkempt sight.
IV
The professor talks to his reflection
in a lecture of one hundred
unknown faces…
The kids turn on their cameras.
They stare at their reflection
And ignore the lecture,
then pretend they have a poor connection.
V
The philosopher holds his face
And asks himself “Is it really me?”
VI
The seven-year-olds scurried to the bathroom,
Turned their lights off,
And chanted
Bloody Mary-
Bloody Mary-
Bloody Mary.
One kid fainted.
VII
The superstitious man broke a mirror once.
His seven years weren’t up.
He hasn’t looked in a mirror since.
Not even before a hookup.
VIII
He discerned each strand of hair.
Detected every blemish.
In disgust, he thought
Is this what others witness?
IX
The artisan marvels at the border,
as he runs his fingers to feel the texture.
He concludes it is mahogany.
X
The custodian discerns the toothpaste blotches
and wonders why the college kids brush their teeth
with such force.
XI
The Harry Potter fan sees the Erised
and lets herself imagine the dreams that
seem too far out of reach.
XII
She stares, transfixed
at the hazel eyes looking back at her.
The light in her eyes, eclipsed,
And unrecognized.
XIII
The older man can’t help but imagine
his seventeen-year-old self
looking back at him.
Tasnova Choudhury, class of 2023, is a Molecular Biology and Biochemistry major, with a minor in English.