Anthony W. Pahl: Mirror

I was shaving this morning as I usually do
but in the mirror I thought I saw somebody new.
I looked at his eyes and they looked back at me
and I thought to myself, "What the hell do they see?"

I saw a bright sparkle that really lit up his face
and I wondered what caused this moment of grace
because the bloke I was watching, I’d seen him before
and his eyes always previously seemed to implore…

… to be released from the pain and the hell on this earth;
… to be with his brothers in front of heaven’s warm hearth;
… to be freed from the nightmares and the terrible strain
of coping with memories sung to Satan’s refrain.

… to have his voice heard over the roar of the gun
that echoes so loudly even though the war’s done;
… to be held in esteem by his family and friends
though deep down he knows it’s not they who condemn…

Yet his eyes now reflected a glimmer and shine
that I tried very hard to comprehend and define.
But no clue would he give to my questioning mind
until with a jolt I knew those eyes were both mine.

Then I understood why they shone with the sparkle of life -
I’d navigated years of flash-backs, mis’ry and strife
and despite the trials that were placed in my way
I had made it to now… I have lived to today!

Page created: Tuesday December 9, 2003

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