🪞 Who is in the Mirror?
Every year I notice awards opening up that carry a certain heft for Australian poetry and I’ve been exploring this recently over on my WordPress blog. Each time I focus on these awards, I ask myself questions: Where does my work fit in? What would I choose to represent my work in these poetic arenas?
Two awards competitions that stand out are the Newcastle Poetry Prize and the Blake Poetry Prize. Both have a long tradition of showcasing work that digs into questions of identity, meaning, and how we see the world around us, and which – sometimes, at least – seem to fit a lot of the work that I do.
The piece below is one that I might well consider for submission to either award. It touches, I think, an aspect of the way we see ourselves, in this case, via a transient reflection from the perspective of the mirror.
in repose
the mirror
in repose
faced a room
filled
with slumber
nothing came
and passed
without notice
dust
danced
devils motivated by the sun
nothin . . .
what is this
who is this
a woman
stood before it
neither slender
nor stout
nor so very tall
who is this
is it
me
I move
when she moves
we are one
I feel
a rightness
now she is
before me
I am splendid
dressed
as I am
in these fine clothes
I can dance
I can whirl
look look
I can admire myself
when I glance back
across my shoulder
look at me
just look at me
I am so beautiful . . .
the room
in repose
filled
with slumber
against a wall
facing the room
the glass of a mirror
showed nothing
passing by
without notice
🪞
The poem emerged from my contemplation of the poetics of the element of Water, as explored by the French philosopher Gaston Bachelard. Instead of competition entry, however, it has found its home in my newly released poetry collection, An Ocean of Purity – Bachelard Interpreted Book 5.
Explore more of my collections here, or join my mailing list for early updates and subscriber-only discounts. For regular reflections and drafts-in-progress, you can also follow me on my WordPress blog.
Thanks for reading.
~ Frank
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