“She” in the Mirror

I look in the mirror –
expecting a young, vibrant
girl –  
seeing instead, a lined, sagging, aged
woman.
 
Yesterday, the girl was there.
Never beautiful –
she was one of those acknowledged as “a great personality” –
but smoother, tighter skin,
shinier hair,
whiter smile,
fuller lips –
no jowls or chicken neck –
 
Who is this ancient in the mirror?
Where did she come from?
She wasn’t there yesterday.
 
She stares back at me as if she knows me.
Are her eyes familiar –
an erstwhile spark hidden there?
Do I recognize the antique face?  I don’t want to.
 
But I know. . .
 “she” is me.
(Sigh. . .)
 
 –Dawn Cawthon Behrens
 
Linking lines: theonlycin-My Body
 
 
 

About grandawn

I live in Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA. I have three wonderful grandchildren. I am a teacher, writer, actor, singer. . . and whatever else I can manage.
This entry was posted in Aging & Changing, Poems and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

9 Responses to “She” in the Mirror

  1. Tokeloshe says:

    Excellent!

    You are so fortunate to have such a beautiful painting of yourself.

    Take care.

  2. knittingmaestro says:

    today…..i feel i’ve earned every wrinkle on my face……maybe tomorrow will be better! ::sigh::

  3. slpmartin says:

    What a brilliant poem…as I read it I thought of the Mose Allison song “I Looked in The Mirror”…it has a similar plot line.

    • grandawn says:

      Thank you, slpmartin. Very kind words from you – your poetry creates such vivid pictures. Mose Allison is a new name to me – so, of course, I had to do quick research. I didn’t find this song. But I now have been introduced to another musical listening outlet.

  4. Pingback: MY BODY « The only Cin

  5. cindy says:

    Beautifully written and I love the pic.
    “She” is the canvas of your life, your treasure chest.
    I’d like to link this to your poem:
    http://theonlycin.wordpress.com/2010/05/10/my-body/

    • grandawn says:

      Thank you, Cindy. I agree. And you’ve written about that beautifully in your poem. I have linked to your poem at the bottom of this page.

      Yes, I love that pic too. It’s a cropped version of a poster for a play in which I appeared (see Grandawn’s Stage Faces). Me in makeup with a pic of 1st Daughter as a teenager.

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