In the Looking Glass

In looking glass,

I have stared and bore

But all I can see

My father as a cheat

And my mother’s a whore

I see his partial, black face

This cowardly, stuttered moment

Arrogant to fill head and heart

Disturbing the home with aches

Nothing resides in this deep, dark place

Nothing at all

It’s filled with space

Let alone the master’s

Evil, complacent snakes

But in the looking glass,

A figure caught my eye

It was my father

Temperamental and scarce

His shadow so faintly

He seemed not to care

With so little to adore

In this looking glass

I view no more.

It will not be the first,

Nor will it be the last

Those that come and go

Are stuck in the past

Lucky me

For I have spotted the pawn

With his entitled, embedded lies

He is completely gone

In this ruthless game

We understand your plays

From this side all just the same

As a looking glass perched

Carefully above the checkerboard

You play dirty tricks

Many that have scored

But life should not be filled

All with tricks and such

Over time, it is in your head

And it’s in there a bunch

As empty as your outer shell

Is your routine

Constrictive, tight like a cell

Do not be fooled.

Into the thought

That this is you

It’s but a facade

I see this up front

This same face

Has put me to shame

I see this too

I’ve even given it a name

Introducing my false self

I’ve noticed it’s not quite tame

There is a pattern

A rhythm of thought

Should be respected

I’ve thought that a lot

But banter without end

Is incredulous sin

Sure, mind over matter

But you fool me not

Though some have been flattered

This reversal is a cheap shot

But a slight twist from

For a pawn in a world

Who thinks only of himself

Should think twice about his life

Before his words stir the pot

For the body can truly

Supercede the mind

In fact, the two are

Completely intertwined

The worst is

Think I’ve been tricked?

A pawn that cannot

Recognize his own fatal game

Is not only speechless

But truly is sick

Useless, brutal mind games

Cannot make you strong

Trust me, I have thought so

I’ve sought so for so long

After all, as the story goes

That you have been told

There is little in store

And nothing to unfold

You will not seek

Certainly not anymore

Your shoddy attempts

To prevail in thought

Mimic the volatile trap

That your spirit has been caught

Way back when

You pointed out my flaws

I dreamt of yours

In this twisted dance

Your plot in life

The same as mine

All in one glance

I have little involvement

In the game that you play

One thing that you know

(Oh, that? Just a *wink*)

Is not to adore

Which could be interpreted

As “the answer”

Or as one might implore

You’ve been trying

Quite diligently

In looking for

The reason your Once Upon A Time

Had never come true

As I walked in shame

From your dismal door

For I have failed man’s greatest task

In seeking the approval of those

That I had asked

It’s a paradoxical statement

Of valor you may understand

But understand this,

I know the other half.

I know you pretend

And while this is no better

Than my broken looking glass

I cannot help to blame

The shattered mirror that I hold

To be only that of a broken soul

As my tears could not be wetter

Truly there is no need for glass

As it would only remind me of

That dark, eerie past

As I cut myself on the shards

That fall so freely

In and out of my grasp