The Mirror’s Reflection

Took angst, anger, and retribution

Combined into your private effigy

Poured out drams of poison potion

Acidic thoughts, hypothetical dreams

Pages torn and words erased

Post secured and hammered nails

Questing for the fanciful illusion

Rocky shores of optic oceans

Water runs on glassy planes

Diving deep to scrape the bottom

Dredged your bits of asternal marrow

Spent your hours lost in assembly

Gleefully marveling at death’s construction

Wrapped the piece in faithless garments

Then deemed yourself its master

On orders from your high command

Overhead the flying fortress crept

Silence but the whispering flight

Then a resounding nothing

What was here, now suddenly gone

Nothing grows in the barren land

And yet the onslaught continues

With no one there to talk you down

To raise your banner

Present your crown

Your legions fight a winless war

There are no pieces across the table

Your opponent has stepped away

And you locked the door behind them

Yet you still sit there waiting

In stiffness you watch the ancient key

Vengeance guards the steely blade

One must cry out in wonderment

Are you no longer entertained

The soliloquy you preach upon the empty stage

When the seats also are abandoned

Who hears the voice of the wretched

When the wretched speaks alone

Undeterred you wield the lash

Chaos rides upon your shoulder

And as in spite, you fail to see

Eyes that seek, but without direction

Suspecting but never focusing

That which has blur is but a smudge

A minor imperfection in the aperture

Yet still you rest your ever hope

Of finding the scratch that does not exist

A single sided justification

But sadly, one of your creation

Soldier on, and lead the charge

Ride hard across that empty field

Search the hidden crannies and crags

Tireless, but you’ll never find

That excoriation in the passageway

And your vision now the achromat

Outside the cogs continue turning

Stay if you must, it’s in your nature

Listen to the stream of echoes

A contrived fiction, quite immersing

I shouldn’t, but advise I will

For dignity demands it

And memories seem to compel

The enemy you seek

Hides in the mirror’s reflection

Additional Reading

R.J. Schwartz is an American Poet and Author. If you enjoyed, the mirror’s reflection and would like to read more of his work, the links below are your guide.

His complete works on The Creative Exiles Website can be found here

The Gypsy Thread is a huge collection of his original work

Ralph also writes on HubPages

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R J Schwartz

I write about everything and sometimes nothing at all.I'm fascinated by old things, rusty things, abandoned places, or anywhere that a secret might be unearthed.I'm passionate about history and many of my pieces are anchored in one concept of time or another.I've always been a writer, dating back to my youth, but the last decade has been a time of growth for me.I'm continually pushing the limitations of vocabulary, syntax, and descriptive phrasing.

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