Mirrored

The lushness of summer seems forever long in the early days of May.

The autumn seems unlikely and an eternity away.

In my verdant days, I could never, myself, begin to conceive

That my own summer would have its fall and blow away the leaves.

My youthful adornments:  unextinguished energy and plump, glowing skin,

Blue-jewelled dewy eyes and thick brown hair - a hint of red within.

I’d chained together daisies, in a ring to make a crown

Then commanded clouds from the soft grass where I had chosen to lie down.

An old woman watched me.  I guessed her tired, lonely and frail.

She’d known the world in black and white, and knew the knights of tales.

She watched as I admired my mirror and its radiant youthfulness.

When I caught her eye, I saw her smile, jealousy I’d guessed.

She spoke to me and so I stopped and she warned me of the world

But me, an adventuress, knew how life would unfurl.

I’d travel the globe and be admired for my talents and my looks,

And be rewarded for my singing and how well I’d write my books.

I would marry a rich and handsome man – although assured of my own wealth -

And produce some loving children and enjoy abundant health.

I knew that I would die some day but far in the future, hazed;

Quietly, in my sleep, at home, a gentle smile upon my face.

It seemed that luck had favoured me, and therefore I was sure

I did not need the maxims of the self-styled wise of yore.

She’d had her days; in the distant and trivial past.

These days were mine, and soon the future would be firm within my grasp.

She faded away completely at some point, I don’t know when,

But through my life, she’d cross my mind every now and then.

Faded - the hair a flat white.  Wiry and dead.

And many decades since a daisy crown adorned that head.

Gravity’s battle with flesh won; the frame bent and thinned.

Behind the dull grey eyes, showing a spirit somewhat dimmed.

The skin around them, lined and fine, delicate, like crepe -

As round all the features of this face were gently draped.

These accents show a life of smiles, of tears and worries, defined.

But faded into obscurity, no-one reads between these lines.

As I watch my face in my mirror now, that arrogant youth’s somewhere

Her outer shell replaced by the old woman I'm seeing here.

Those eyes saw some parts of the world, and settled with a man,

But too late to bear him children – and those dreams never went as planned.

I watched a youthful girl today, unaware of what she had

In terms of time and beauty, and in a way I felt quite sad.

I thought I’d tell her not to waste opportunity or brain

But she just laughed it off as if this old woman was insane.