from the mirror

a poem

from the mirror, watching me, confining me to my disgrace

pupils like hot iron nails burning stigmata into my face

word vomit into my notes app, spill the tar out of my chest

condemned to my jail of flesh filled with sins, not one confessed

a cacophonous orchestra of voices outside my window sing an ode

for the long perished ideals of light, beauty and love

separated from the others by an impenetrable wall of scars

craving bitter self destruction from the smoke of their cigars

here I am, my darling mirror, only you tell me the truth

which impales me like a skewer stripping away my youth

here I am, my dreaded mirror, standing naked in your gaze

watching my meat decompose and fall off in gruesome ways.

photography by Marlene Dietrich