Angel in the Mirror

Arati Nair
Literally Literary
Published in
2 min readOct 7, 2021

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Photo by Amir Geshani on Unsplash

Mirror mirror on the wall,
You be me as scarred,
Circles surround my eyes, crow’s feet accent the tips,
Hairy brows, frown lines defile this face,
A crooked nose and chapped lips,
Stubble around the cleft of chin,
Drooping breasts and pudgy hips,
And waist with stretchmarks’ sin.
As my wings that wither,
These wings be gone, no angels here to see.

Mirror mirror on the wall,
You be me as bitter,
Limbs not shaven smooth, lanky, and brown,
I smell of sweat, a fragrance uncouth,
My smudged skin sunless as night,
Calloused fingers and a balding crown,
While teeth unaligned aren’t pearly white,
And once sharp nails, bitten, sawed down.
As my halo that falters,
The holy ring be gone, no angels here to be.

Mirror mirror on the wall,
You be me as resolved,
I drink elixirs, bathe in textures even,
The mirage of glamour I adorn so well,
Sprinkle rouge to lighten blots on skin,
Mascara, lipstick, and shadow I leave in,
Untamed hair, combed and pinned,
A facade soaked in tears awaits your will.
As a charade that prolongs,
This mask of deceit be true, no angels here be free.

Mirror mirror on the wall,
You be me as miserable,
Fancy props and salves befoul my soul,
These tinctures I spill off suffocated,
Smothering silken robes abandoned, push-ups, tuck-ins torn away,
The hue of skin, yellow of teeth, grey of hair
I embrace, embrace scars, hollows, peaks, and valleys,
I let myself reign free, burn effigies of sacred rules.
Oh, mirror of mine! Lo and behold, the cape flutters in you,
For fables of angles as may seem, the beautiful savior here be me.

© Arati Nair 2021

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Arati Nair
Literally Literary

Content writer, avid book lover, amateur poet and bizarrely imaginative commoner.