Speculum

"Let's play a game."

She gave me a mirror.

"Look into the mirror."

I held it firmly in front of me.

"Tell me. What do you see?"

"A plain-looking girl," I said.

"Nothing else?" She asked.

"Yes."

She clicked her tongue.

"Uh huh. Now, clear your mind."

So I did. For a minute.

"Breathe in. Breathe out. Look into the mirror. 

Look into it intently. Tell me, what do you see?"

I looked into the mirror. Intently. 

It changed.

"I see... a girl, with dark-colored almond eyes... pale skin. 

She looks so worn-out. So weak... so fragile."

"Anything else you see?"

"She's distorted. Everything about her is distorted."

She nodded.

"Let's do it one more time shall we? Hold the mirror and 

stare at it like you did a while ago. For two minutes. Now focus. 

Focus on the one thing in front of you."

Two minutes...two minutes. 

It felt like forever.

"Open your eyes. Tell me, what do you see?"

It changed again. Drastically.

"A monster. A frighteningly horrible monster. 

With horns and fangs and eyes as the devil."

It's true.

"Who is this monster?"

"Me. I see me. The monster...is me."

SPECULUM (Latin word for mirror)

The mirror is a powerful tool because it forces you to deal with yourself on a deeper level. Conceptually, paintings are like mirrors. They're an expression from the artist: 'This is how I view the world - I'm presenting it to you. 

-Mickalene Thomas

*Sorry if this one is really messed-up. T'was intended to be a 'psychological' poem but ended up as a short story. I'll try to edit this as soon as possible.