Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Day 3 - Poem: "Beyong the Looking Glass" by E.P.C.

Hey everyone, I just found this outstanding poem.  Perfect for this project.  It's beautiful, poignant, and funny (check out that stellar closing line!).  Enjoy.


Mirror, mirror on the wall . . .
Who is the fairest one of all . . .

Out flew the web and floated wide . . .
The mirror cracked from side to side . . .
The cracking of this crystal sphere
Was greeted by a rousing cheer
A joyful cry that filled the air
From thinking women everywhere
The smashing of this narrow glass
Which lived to hurt and to harass
Pernicious magic; dark, arcane
Existed only to cause pain
The things it loved most to create
Were envy, rancor, gall and hate
It’s message spoke of surface things
The beauty of the wives of kings
Who in it’s depth would sit and stare
And wonder if they were most fair
It’s true intent was low and starker
Something deep and so much darker
It’s mission here upon the earth:
To prove that women have no worth
The things it hoped to bring about
Were fear, resentment and self doubt
To feed on woman’s greatest fears
And it had worked for many years
Generations it had held in thrall
With “whose is the fairest one of all”

It’s urgent that we understand
The duplicity this mirror had planned
It made the mirror laugh and exalt
When a woman thought it her own fault
It made the mirror extremely glad
When a woman thought that she was bad
It was the foul mirror’s fondest dream
To obliterate all self-esteem
And make a woman quail and balk
For wanting to hear its wretched talk
To keep her spirit in upheaval
Believing the wanting made her evil
To feel her feelings cloaked with grime
As if emotions were a crime
To make her feel she needed shrift
For owning the Goddess’ greatest gift
Nature’s magnificent work of art
A woman’s full, emoting heart

But now we’ve smashed the wretched mirror
Broken it’s hold; erased the fear
And it’s about time that it was gone
With all the pain it’s words could spawn
Turning women against each other
Friend and sister, daughter, mother
All that trash about who is best
“Who is better than all the rest?”
While all those words of false self-pride
Just bruised and wounded from inside
But, now we know it’s words are hollow
A new-found wisdom we will follow
Henceforward we’ll show lots more smarts
And believe the truth of our own hearts
We’ll scatter this dark glass on the waters
And build a new glass for our daughters
A smooth, clear glass that will project
Authenticity and self respect
With wisdom’s width and truth of length
To mirror a woman’s many strengths
A looking glass not made of sand
But shaped of things we understand
A mirror milled from moon and star
That shows exactly who you are
Out flew the web and floated wide
The mirror cracked from side to side
Good riddance to that harping witch!
That mirror was always such a bitch

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45 comments:

  1. That was awesome! :)

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  2. Hello Kjerstin,
    i just finished reading your blog ( and your links i Love operation beautiful and About-Face) when something occurred to me, my Son ( Brandon age 3) loves to see images of himself videos, the mirror,( i have one big mirror and then a tiny set of mirrors that are almost totally covered.) pictures. im pretty sure his love affair with mirrors is not youthful vanity but more discovery at 2 things 1. oh my gosh i can see myself! 2.Thats me!!
    which leads me to think that as we age the pressure added to us is maybe what causes so much negative self image. children get this added probably through t.v. and movies, there friends and in some cases there parents ( brainwashed to care more about image than the childs happiness)
    Which led me to another thought i love my sons chubby cheeks ( from me lol >.< maybe its a mn/nd thing ) and i love mine to, i've had some problems mostly in im unhappy with my weight ( which the gov tells me is 120 lbs to heavy for my height ) but ive always loved my face and i like looking at it and seeing the things i share with my son and the things that are just mine ( i love my hands too which are super tiny and feminine and how freaking short i am because the people that love me tease me about them ) In short (omg pun..o.o) i had lost myself for awhile and your blog helped bring about the realization that yes while i dont like my weight ( mostly cause i dont feel healthy also cause all my favorite jeans don't fit! ) i still have 10 reasons (or more) to love myself and i do! but i got so focused on the numbers the scale showed thinking they added up to Ugly or Unlovable. when really only those numbers are what i dont like about me and that they shouldn't have so much control over how happy i am, after all only real Diamonds have flaws :)
    and i would think that when your year is done and you stand there for 10 minutes looking at all the things you love, if you find a flaw and little nagging voices chirp in your head, you should look at your wedding band at the gemstone there and remember it has flaws but its still beautiful and precious.

    Love From ND
    Erica

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  3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  4. Who takes the time to say these horrible things to someone on their blog?^^^^ I think what you're doing is amazing keep it up!! :D

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  5. Wow, I think someone needs to spend their time more productively, by say getting some much needed counseling instead of posting such ugliness. It's very apparent that you, whoever you are, are very angry, for whatever reason, and are just venting but in a very deranged manner. I hope that you find the courage to face your own demons instead of projecting them onto others.

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  6. Great poem.

    One of my favorite poem's part:

    "With all the pain it’s words could spawn
    Turning women against each other
    Friend and sister, daughter, mother
    All that trash about who is best

    “Who is better than all the rest?”

    it's sad that reflects a reality in most women's world. We women have so many things to share, so many things in common. I think we should have solidarity among ourselves instead of being competing against each other in regards to our physical appearance.

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  7. I'm full of emotions after reading this post. I extremely like it and it's incredible to read about this topic. I would like to read another articles this author with great pleasure.

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  8. Kjerstin - Five years later, I just found you post with my poem. Thank you for the lovely introduction. I enjoyed most of the comments. I can't imagine why someone would reply in the negative for what you are doing, but it takes all kinds. I loved your message and what I could see of the project here. If you get this, message me at Face Book (same name) I'd love to touch bases with you. We seem to have some of the same ideas. Best of luck wherever you fare.

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