INTO THE LOOKING GLASS POOL

They said: that’s you.

Me?  That tater head was me?
I stared hard—then harder 
but that face still seemed so strange.  

Finally, I lost patience
and crawled away from the glass--
I would explore the outer world instead.  

However
the faces I saw now seemed
just as peculiar
as that one in the mirror.

And my efforts to understand them
soon ended
with the admonition: 
don’t stare at people.  

So I returned to my own face.

Some will surely say
You’re like that fellow in the story--
Narcissus.

No—
he only gazes at the surface
whereas I try to see beneath

and often 
I don’t love what I discover.
However
I refuse to look away
because an explorer must be brave.

But sometimes I need encouragement
so I tell myself:
don’t let the pain you find blind you
to the complex wonder
which is the human being

and whenever you encounter
a ferocious sea serpent
in the shadowy depths...

try to see his good side.

Into the Looking Glass Pool

Recorded on September 18, 2017, for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. www.poets.org

Heather Christle: "Mistake"

Recorded on October 23, 2017, for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. www.poets.org

Howard Altmann: "After Hours"

Recorded on October 25, 2017, for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. www.poets.org

Deborah Landau: from "Soft Targets"

Recorded on December 15, 2017, for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. www.poets.org

Megan Levad: "Foundling"

Recorded on April 13, 2018, for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. www.poets.org

James Richardson: "Essay on the One Hand and on the Other"

Recorded on July 19, 2018, for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. www.poets.org

Erika Meitner: "A Brief Ontological Investigation"

Recorded on July 26, 2018, for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. www.poets.org

Francisco Marquez's Album

Janice N. Harrington: "Burn"

Wasting Time : written and read by @megwaf for #WhisperingNeds 151 (Wasting Time)

Wasting Time : by @megwaf for #WhisperingNeds 151

she shuffles her feet : written and read by @megwaf for #WhisperingNeds 151

she shuffles her feet : by @megwaf

Bury me where... written by Chris : read by @megwaf  for #ReadMeSpeakMe No.99

Bury me where... written by Chris : read by @megwaf

I claim to be a novelist, poet, essayist, cartoonist, graphic artist, peace monger--and I'm trying to be a world citizen. As for my backstory...let's just say I've lived and worked all over the United States.  I'm self-taught, for the most part, which is like stumbling around blindfolded while looking for the right door.  It's an on-going process. Lacking any true musical ability, I try to make music with language, while also making meaning.  

Into the Looking Glass Pool

mythsteps

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