The Other Side Of A Mirror Poem by Mary Elizabeth Coleridge
The Other Side Of A Mirror
I sat before my glass one day,
And conjured up a vision bare,
Unlike the aspects glad and gay,
That erst were found reflected there -
The vision of a woman, wild
With more than womanly despair.
Her hair stood back on either side
A face bereft of loveliness.
It had no envy now to hide
What once no man on earth could guess.
It formed the thorny aureole
Of hard, unsanctified distress.
Her lips were open - not a sound
Came though the parted lines of red,
Whate'er it was, the hideous wound
In silence and secret bled.
No sigh relieved her speechless woe,
She had no voice to speak her dread.
And in her lurid eyes there shone
The dying flame of life's desire,
Made mad because its hope was gone,
And kindled at the leaping fire
Of jealousy and fierce revenge,
And strength that could not change nor tire.
Shade of a shadow in the glass,
O set the crystal surface free!
Pass - as the fairer visions pass -
Nor ever more return, to be
The ghost of a distracted hour,
That heard me whisper: - 'I am she!'
Nice poetic composition to read! But bizarre theme is puzzling!
Looking at our mirror image while in despair and anguish gives a reflection different from the one we seek to see when we mirrorize ourselves...it may shock us but in the end we accept the mirror doesn't lie... we are it.
I tried to enjoy the poem, but was disappointed by how they have ruined a good read with ads all over the page.
What a candid and beautiful portrayal of self! A lovely poem
This is a marvelous poem as is usual for Coleridge. I don't understand why people give so many classic poems a low rating, . and in general here I find that for me the ratings here often do not reflect the quality of the poems.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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10/2/2024 4:03:04 PM # 1.0.0.1119
I agree Mary was a fine author and poet. But I do not see what her biography says about this poem. About she seeing Christ's reflection. The poem was a fine one. I reiew poems all day for a poetry site. I've done this before.