Poems of Half-Mirrored Images

This was inspired by

Kassi Wilson

's prompt: "A self-portrait poem gives a glimpse into your inner world through the lens of someone other than yourself. When writing a self-portrait poem, the aim is to put yourself in the shoes of someone else, to see how they might experience the world."

It was a fascinating prompt, imagining how others might see me and what their perspective might be. Illustrated versions are coming later! This is part of the Whiskey & Flowers collection. I hope you enjoy them.

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I. (from the perspective of an old leather jacket)

I know the shape
of his shoulders
when he is brave,
and when he is broken.

I smell of his cigarettes,
the rain from a thousand cities,
and a little bit like her.

I hold him together
on roads
that try to tear
him apart.

---

II. (from the perspective of his whiskey glass)

They see the poet.
I see the man.

I know the tremor
in his hands
as he chases
one perfect word
into the long
hours of the night.

I know the taste
of his ghosts.

---

III. (from the perspective of the moon)

The world
gets his sunny afternoons.
I have his midnights.

The lonely drives,
the silent screaming,
the boy who still looks
up at me
wondering if he’ll ever
be enough.

He shines
most, I think,
when he believes
he is lost
in the dark.

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