The image in the mirror
Is you or it might be someone else
How can you tell?
Have you memorized yourself
Are you certain that an imposter
Hasn’t appropriated the ego
That sets you apart from me
And him and her and them
And tried to use your credit card
And sleep with your husband
Or wife. Voted for a candidate
You cannot abide, even committed
A crime. The only way you’ll know
Is if you turn yourself in.
Let someone pore over your DNA,
Your most personal possession,
More personal than a certain shirt
And the watch that tells imperfect time
But has some forgotten meaning.
Best to avoid mirrors altogether,
Forget the length of your nose
And the droop of your chin
And the baggy weight of your cheeks
And the lips half open with an observation
That vanished before it got that far.
© Dennis Hathaway
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