Himself in the Mirror
©April 3rd/4th, 2017
By Vijaya Sundaram
Happy to be you today?
He says to her,
The question surprising
Both of them.
Oh yes, so happy!
It’s sunny out, and
The days flow like silk,
Don’t they?
Coffee with me sometime?
He asks, tentative,
Attracted, shy.
They stand on the grass
Little, friendly ants crawl over
Her sneakers, and she lets them be.
A bee buzzes near his head,
And he shakes it.
She inclines hers
Just a fraction, smiling vaguely,
Her acknowledgement of his
Invitation, his attraction
Fractured by competing
Time-tables, now and forever.
She’s on another track,
The train approaches,
And she has to choose
To board it.
He doesn’t see it,
He doesn’t hear it,
All he sees is his reflection
In her eyes.
He is in love.
It isn’t that she’s unhappy
It isn’t envy of him, either.
It’s shifting views
Opacity and transparency,
Her mind saying one thing,
The world seeing another.
Delicate and elfin,
She stands, hand shading
Eyes. smiling vaguely
Up at him, his face so eager.
I’ll be seeing you,
She says, and his face falls.
She pities him, but she
Is not his keeper.
Okay, he mumbles, and
Walks away, diminishing,
Into the horizon,
His return a question mark.
She goes to her house,
Her heart beats loudly.
She’s made up her mind.
This is no time to worry.
He, or her parents,
Or her friends will,
But she won’t.
She has chosen.
She opens the door to the bathroom,
Stands before the mirror,
Gazes at her reflection,
Sees what she will become,
And smiles at himself in the mirror.
Hello, you! he says.
He boards the train.
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This is my poem for Day 4 of NaPoWriMo.
This was the prompt:
One of the most popular British works of classical music is Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations. The “enigma” of the title is widely believed to be a hidden melody that is not actually played, but which is tucked somehow into the composition through counterpoint. Today I’d like you to take some inspiration from Elgar and write a poem with a secret – in other words, a poem with a word or idea or line that it isn’t expressing directly. The poem should function as a sort of riddle, but not necessarily a riddle of the “Why is a raven like a writing desk?” variety. You could choose a word, for example, “yellow,” and make everything in the poem something yellow, but never actually allude to their color. Or perhaps you could closely describe a famous physical location or person without ever mentioning what or who it actually is.
