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Shattered Mirror

July 16, 2011
By firenrain GOLD, Belle Mead, New Jersey
More by this author
firenrain GOLD, Belle Mead, New Jersey
10 articles 0 photos 37 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;A room without books is like a body without a soul.&quot;<br /> <br /> - Cicero<br /> <br /> Roman author, orator, &amp; politician (106 BC - 43 BC)

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I once looked at others with envy
My mother would tell me that I am looking through
A
Cloud
Of
Dust

“You’re the one with blinding beauty”
She would murmur,
Day after day
Night after night
But when she left
Who was there to tell me?

Now when I look at myself in the mirror
I see that my mother was truly right.
I am beautiful.

I realize
That before
I was always looking at my face in
A
Shattered
Mirror

I can now conclude that:
My vision was once distorted,
My perception was once clouded,
And my insight was once tainted.

What’s sad is that it took
My mother’s empty spot
For me to apprehend it.

© Joseph B., Mesquite, TX

The author's comments:
We, teens, have a very distorted image of what it means to be beautiful these days, with media cornering them at every turn. It takes the strongest of us to resist the norm and realize that different doesn't always mean ugly.
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This article has 4 comments.

emanmkhan SILVER said...
on Aug. 27 2011 at 11:50 am
emanmkhan SILVER, Austin, Texas
7 articles 0 photos 74 comments

Favorite Quote:
\&quot;People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.\&quot; Maya Angelou

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This is pure beautiful. I love your writing ability. Your talent extends to all horizons. Keep up the good work!
Vicky11 SILVER said...
on Jul. 26 2011 at 6:17 am
Vicky11 SILVER, Charlottenlund, Other
9 articles 0 photos 23 comments

Favorite Quote:
The wisest men follow their own direction - Euripides

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I totally agree with you, and I think this poem has a great message, and is well written. We all need to realise that we are beautiful sometime, sadly some people never do.
LadyJaneGrey PLATINUM said...
on Jul. 25 2011 at 9:59 pm
LadyJaneGrey PLATINUM, Louisville, Kentucky
30 articles 0 photos 46 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I know it defies the law of gravity, but I never studied law.&quot; - Bugs Bunny

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This was great! This is the exact kind of poetry-writing ability I'm jealous of. I liked how some of your lines seemed jagged, like the shattered mirror, and the ending was beautifully sad. My only problem is that the word "apprehend" in the last line doesn't really make sense with its conventional definition, but it doesn't detract from the piece as a whole. Great job!
SecretFlame PLATINUM said...
on Jul. 24 2011 at 10:55 pm
SecretFlame PLATINUM, Portland, Oregon
20 articles 1 photo 373 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I have a life. I just choose to ignore it.&quot;<br /> -one of my friends

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This is a great poem! In the beginning the flow is kind of off, with long and then really short lines, but I think that's what you were going for. 

 

I really like the stanza that goes:

 

"My vision was once distorted,

My perception was once clouded,

And my insight was once tainted."

 

Great description! Keep up the good work! The message in this poem was wonderful and well put, you are completely right about distorted visions of beauty!

 

 Could you check out some of my stuff, that would be awesome!