IMAGINE IF Poem by Sapardi Djoko Damono

Imagine if what you see in the mirror this morning
is not your face but the bird that flies in the cloud-spattered
sky, scattering the wind through its feathers;
imagine if what you see in the mirror this morning
is not your face but the cloud that watches the bird as it
plunges into our city and flaps the factory smoke from its
feathers;
imagine if what you see in the mirror this morning
is not your face but the rambutan tree in your courtyard
that lures the bird to perch on its shoulders;
imagine if what you see in the mirror this morning
is your own old face that remains unchanged even though
you keep on peeling it fiercely layer by layer each and every day.