The Old Man in The Mirror
Who is that old man who looks at me in the morning?
When I shave and shower he is there living in a pane of glass
Grey hair replacing the dark walnut brown
More and more each day, each hour
Eyes looking tired from ages of struggles
Each reflecting a soul which was once so full of life
Now it lays stagnant and lost
It has the memories of its youth
Doing this that that man can only now remember
Wrinkles took so long to show
Even fooling that old man into thinking he was younger than he is
Every grey hair, every wrinkle has been earned
They are the wages of stress, pain and anxiety of aging
Some called them badges of honor
I look in the mirror and see that old man looking back at me
I don’t see honor, pain, stress or anxiety
That old man looking back at me has lived a full life
Successes and mistakes of the past are reflected in the mirror
Lost loves and loves found are hidden in his spirit
I look at the old man in the mirror
I look at the grey hair and the sad eyes
I see each and every wrinkle
I look at the old man in the mirror and I see life.
-Anonymous
Analysis
The old man in the mirror is narrated by a poet who takes a look at himself everyday in the mirror. With each passing day the man sees a slightly different image. Previously, the image had walnut brown hair which now seems white. Those eyes which were full of sparkle and energy now seem tired and saggy. A mirror reflects back everything that comes in front of it, without discriminating.
The poem has used the mirror as a metaphor for life. When he stares at the mirror while grooming himself, he sees a man staring at him from the bosom of the reflecting surface (his own reflection).
The man’s face was filled with wrinkles. The reflection depicts all the stress, pain, anxiety and loss he has suffered through in his journey. It seems as if his entire life history flashes through one image that appears from the bosom of the reflecting surface. All the heartbreaks, all the tears that he shed after losing a beloved are captured in that one image. The shattered teenage heart and those beaming eyes in search of the only one are still visible.
Although these are aspects visible in the image, the old man overlooks these and concentrates on the positive aspects of life that are visible. The sparkle in the eyes after every victory, each tear shed after something impossible was achieved and the healing of the wounded heart after his lady love was found. He sees all the mistakes that he learned from, all the success that came his way only because of the mistakes made. His innocence as a child is still visible. The old man sees the reflection of a man who has lived life. The mirror has been able to reflect each memory and aspect of his life. It almost seems as if the mirror has captured every single moment in his life and he stares at it every morning to be reminded of how he lived life to the fullest.
Shivani Sakrani
1413460
Thought Circus 