Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall
Mirror, Mirror
Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall
Mirror, mirror, on the wall
Who’s the fairest of them all?”
˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜
“It once was you my lady fair,
But your beauty is no longer there.”
˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜
“Don’t lie to me you piece of glass,
I’ll shatter you upon the grass!”
˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜
“I cannot lie My Mistress dear,
Your looks are dead, like you I fear.”
˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜
“Who says a zombie can’t look good,
I seek the truth now, understood?”
˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜
“The truth I tell, it’s what I do,
No one alive looks worse than you.”
˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜
“You silly piece of antique junk,
I’ll toss you in the attic trunk!”
˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜
“A ghoul’s a ghoul by any name,
To lie to you I am not game.”
˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜
“Shut up, shut up! You’re cracked and weak,
I’ll hear no more, don’t even speak!”
˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜
“But My Queen, each time you ask
I cannot shirk my given task.”
˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜
“I will not listen to your cries,
Cease your chatter and your lies!”
˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜
“You are decayed and rotting fast,
Your beauty wasn’t made to last.”
˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜
“Who was the fool who cast the spell
That made you magic, pray do tell?”
˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜
“T’was you My Highness, Wicked Witch,
It serves you right, you silly bitch!”
by John Hansen © 2015
‘The Talking Mirror’: Real Life Influence
It is thought that the German folktale “Snow White” was influenced by Maria Sophia Margaretha Catherina von Erthal. After the death of Maria Sophia’s birth mother in 1741, her father Philipp Christoph, the King, remarried Claudia Elisabeth von Reichenstein. Who it is said was domineering and greatly favoured the children from her first marriage.
Philipp presented Claudia with a “talking” mirror from Lohr Mirror Manufacturers as a gift. The upper right corner of this mirror contains a reference to self-love (Amour Propre). This mirror “talked” in aphorisms and the mirrors from Lohr were given the reputation of “always speaking the truth”.
Queen Claudia’s iconic mirror, referred to as “The Talking Mirror,” is still on display today at Spessart Museum in the Lohr Castle, where Maria Sophia was born.
Now I find myself branching out and experimenting with short fiction, and thoroughly enjoying this, especially flash fiction.
I have been fortunate to have two poems made into songs and recorded. The first "On the Road to Kingdom Come" by Al Wordlaw, and the second, "If I Could Write a Love Poem" by award-winning Israeli/British singer Tally Koren.
My services increasingly in demand as a freelance writer and I have ghost-written the text for a number of children's books and educational tutorials.
It has taken me many years of searching and restlessness to realise that my life's passion is to write. It saddens me that I wasted so many years not devoting to that, but thinking positively, the experiences gained over those years are now wonderful material for my stories and poems.
I want to try to bring a new focus on poetry and try to make it appealing to a new generation of young people and those who thought they never liked or understood it before.
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OMG John – I’m laughing so hard right now at the ending. This back and forth narrative is a great idea for expression – it was easy to follow and enjoyable to read.
Haha, Ralph. Thanks so much for the great comment. Glad it gave you a laugh.
I love it John, and the history of that talking mirror a treat. Beauty, at least physical beauty can’t last forever. great work my friend.
Hey Tony, Glad you enjoyed this. That is so true physical beauty is fleeting.
This is funny, John. I never knew about Queen Claudia’s mirror, that is really interesting. This poem is well penned and enjoyable.
Thank you, Phyllis, glad you found it funny and interesting.
I really enjoyed this. Thanks for the laugh.
Thank you, Rasma. If it helped you to laugh it did its job. Thanks so much.
Still laughing John – awesome and funny piece
Hey, Kurt. Thanks for that Pal. Glad you got a few laughs from the poem.
Great piece John. I also enjoyed the back and forth dialogue. I also found it intriguing that this mirror still is around and available to view. Great way to end the piece.
Thank you, Paul. So glad you enjoyed this piece and the info about the mirror.
This is a great piece, John! Very funny and fun to read. Thank you for the note about the talking mirror, I never knew about it.
Thank you, Emese. I am glad you enjoyed this. Much appreciated.