The Mirror, by Mid-century poet, Sylvia Plath

I've been doing a lot of reflecting these last few days and thinking about 'the change of life.' The mirror reminds us of this change every day; some days, like an unwelcome guest, or just an honest friend. Keeping a healthy perspective is so important, and learning to value more than just your physical appearance.

It made me think of a poem, The Mirror, by Sylvia Plath. It's a sad and raw poem but I think it provides with some understanding of what happens when we invest too much in our reflection and not our souls.

The Mirror 

I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions. Whatever you see I swallow immediately Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike. I am not cruel, only truthful--- The eye of a little god, four-cornered. Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall. It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long I think it is a part of my heart. But it flickers. Faces and darkness separate us over and over. Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me, Searching my reaches for what she really is. Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon. I see her back, and reflect it faithfully. She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands. I am important to her. She comes and goes. Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness. In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.

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