The Mirror Poem by Aparna Chatterjee

There I sighted the lonesome lass
a look of despair on her lifeless face
tears brimming in her gloomy eyes
her dark unkempt hair – a shade of sorrow
may be I had seen her somewhere before
as she looked at me with a knowing gaze

There was a deafening silence between us
I tried to speak but the words had frozen out
So I kept on staring at her –
- and She at Me

Her lamenting eyes seemed to whisper:
“ my bruised heart has been aching so long,
it cannot bear the pain any more…
it seeks solace, it seeks relief,
it’s withering away of endless grief! ”

I knew not how to console her
feeling just as helpless as she was
so donning a mask over the “real” Me
and a “made-up” smile on my face
I turned away from the mirror
and trudged along with the world’s brisk pace