I look in the mirror
And what do I see?
My crown of brown
Speckled with white.
Eyes sunken into the skull,
Spider webs stretched across my face,
Lines around the mouth
Where emotions rest –
A smile, a frown, a thin line of dissent.
Lips that move to soothe,
To kiss and caress,
Or to rebuke, to redress.
I’m a lover and a mentor.
I look to either side of me.
I see my hands and feet –
Rough, callused, marked,
By time, trial and tenacity.
Blue veins slithering down –
Turgid rivers of dirty red.
Creaking fingers warping with age
Soles dry and cracked for want of care,
Care that I’ve given to someone else.
A crosshatch of meaningless lines
Etched on my palms; going nowhere.
My horoscope says otherwise, but I don’t care.
I’m a worker and a nurturer.
When I look further down
I see half a globe,
Rotund, flabby, browned;
An undulating horizon
With a yawning hole in its centre.
The hole filled with me,
But the whole of my being
Etched in that crescent-shaped mark
That lies further down –
My smiling scar.
This is my belly,
Once home to another being
Who now resides in my heart.
I’m a mother and a martyr.
I’m a creator.
But when I look around me
I see myself in you and her
In him and in those in between.
I see strength and capabilities,
And I wonder,
How is it that when we are
So many people within one being,
We still feel we aren’t good enough?
Whose validation do we seek?
Copyright ©2018 Pradita Kapahi.
All rights reserved.
Image: Pradita Kapahi.
Good enough, I’d say. I have enjoyed reading this poem.
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Thanks a lot Peter 🙂
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Really well written! Loved this one!
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Thanks a lot, luv 🙂
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Nice
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Thanks 🙂
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Nice one
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Thank you 🙂
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Welcome
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Good Enough!
Well I think, a mirror always show you what you want to see actually.
Nice poem.
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I beg to differ. The mirror shows you what ‘is’, the eye sees what we want to see. But we have our own opinions, of course. Thank you for appreciating 🙂
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100% Agree, the eye sees what we want to see.
A mirror can open up everything, it depends on us that what eye we use to see in it. (Internal or External)
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Yes! That’s where we shake hands on this 🙂
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And bravo…👏👏 that’s a beautiful poem
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Thanks a lot Smita 😘
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😍😙
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Amazinnnng!
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Thank you 🙂
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Oh wow. That kind of hit a bit close to home. Sometimes we do underestimate ourselves. We don’t give ourselves the credit that we deserve.
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That’s right and I’m glad you associate with it. On another note though, how have you been?
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I’ve been a bit busy, a bit lazy and not been in the mood to write that much lately. Hopefully this dry spell won’t last long. What about you, dear? It’s been a while!
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I’ve been in the same mood as you. But it will pass. Don’t worry. People like us can’t go long without writing 😁
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Yeah. So true. I have finally kicked my writer’s block! Managed to come up with a post yesterday. It’s a wonderful feeling. 😍
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Hey Pradita beautifully written.. i so much associate myself to this poem.
How have you been?
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Thakn you so much, luv. I’ve been good. How are you and your lil Prince?
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I am good.. just going on with the flow. My boy is a notorious chap now..
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Haha. As boys his age should be 😀
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So beautiful and so enough! ❤🤗
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Thank you so much 🙂 🙂
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The last line really made me wonder..
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I wonder too 🙂 Thanks for reading 🙂
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