Mirror

This poem is written in two uniform nine-line stanzas for a total of 18 lines each. The stanzas are visually very similar, creating the impression of mirror images. Each line uses crisp, unadorned language that speaks directly to the reader, which enhances the poem’s message of a speaker who claims to have “no preconceptions” (Line 1) and reflects the world without ornamentation. The word choices are unfiltered and precise. The poem is written in free verse, which means it has no set structure or meter. Instead it creates its own form, which highlights the overall impressions of the narrative.

“Mirror” does not use traditional rhyming lines. It incorporates a few key near-rhymes or slant rhymes to heighten the poem’s sense of rhythm. For example, “[w]hatever I see I swallow immediately” (Line 2) uses similar sounds in “see” and “immediately.” Another slant rhyme happens in the words “cruel” and “truthful”: “I am not cruel, only truthful” (Line 4). These internal rhyming sounds create an impression of small reflections scattered throughout the poem, while still retaining the stripped-down quality that mimics the mirror’s unfiltered view of the world.