SHE: Poem 6 – “she fears her reflection” (circa ’85)
she freezes
‘fore the bathroom mirror,
neon shadows tracing every edge,
like a scratched VHS
looping her face,
and she doesn’t press play.
she taps the glass
in jittery bursts,
as if her reflection is
some wild graffitied wall
she can’t decode—totally mystified,
and asking why the image
stares back so hard.
she once rocked
neon lipstick like armour,
now she peeks through slitted lids,
heart thumping
like a boombox on max,
dreading the girl she almost knows.
i watch in puzzled awe,
wondering which side is
the real deal— the gutsy skater
lighting up arcades,
or the girl who flinches
at her own glow?
.
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Author:
crypticbard (Pseudonym) (
Offline) - Published: March 20th, 2026 07:13
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 15
- Users favorite of this poem: Tristan Robert Lange
- In collections: delayed telecast.
Offline)
Comments3
Cryptic this poem approaches the two sides of an individual the painted and the bare and naked and the question is which is the person. Sometimes we become our mask the two become the same. Very thought provoking my friend
So glad you saw it that way, Soren. Thank you as always 🕊️🙏🏻
My pleasure my friend
arqios, “like a scratched VHS looping her face”…that image is perfect for this. It carries the repetition, the distortion, and that stuck feeling all at once. 🌹🖤🙏🕯️
Sometimes the gritty side of things refuse to be articulate- thanks so much, Tittu🕊️🙏🏻
The person you see in that mirror is the complete opposite of the one that others see.
Andy
Isn’t that always the case! Selfies also produce similar parallax 🕊️🙏🏻
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