Mirror Image, Shattered Poem by Michael Burch

Self Reflection
by Michael R. Burch

for anyone struggling with self-image

She has a comely form
and a smile that brightens her dorm...
but she's grossly unthin
when seen from within;
soon a griefstricken campus will mourn.

Yet she'd never once criticize
a friend for the size of her thighs.
Do unto others—
sisters and brothers?
Yes, but also ourselves, likewise.



Is the mirror unkind
by Michael R. Burch

To your lovely brown eyes is the mirror unkind,
revealing far more than reflections defined
in superficial glass, so lacking in depth?
Is the mirror unkind, at times, darling Beth?

What you see my dear, I see different by far,
as our sun from Centauri is just a "small" star,
but here it brings life and warms each day's start.
Oh, and a mirror can never reveal a true heart.



Form, Theme, Analysis and Meaning: 'Self Reflection' is a poem about negative self-image and the terrible cost it can carry. A previous title for the poem was 'Mirror Image, Shattered.' The poem is similar in form to a double limerick, having the rhyme scheme AABBA AABBA with the B lines having fewer syllables than the A lines (other than the truncated first line) . The poem uses the image of a young female college student to illustrate a problem that is unfortunately widespread today. Although the young woman brightens her dorm with her smile, she doesn't see herself the way other people see her. She is anorexic and bulimic, and sees herself as 'grossly unthin.' As a result, her life is in danger. If she ends her life by not eating, or by committing suicide, or by engaging in other dangerous, destructive behaviors, everyone who knew the 'real her' will be griefstricken and mourn her death. The second stanza makes the point that the young woman would never judge her friends the way she judges herself. There is a sort of hypocrisy involved, when we judge ourselves more harshly than we do our friends and loved ones. My poem closes with a reference to the Golden Rule: 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' If we flip that around, we should treat ourselves as well as we treat others. Keywords/Tags: anorexia, bullying, anti-bullying, self harm, cutting, suicide, mirror, reflection, reflections, self reflection