Today we’re going to take a look at ourselves. What do we see in the mirror? What do we think other see? Does what we see match what we feel?
In “1906,”Rainer Maria Rilke discovers ancestry in his eyebrows, “anguish” in his eyes, and a general “humility:”
The stamina of an old long-noble race
in the eyebrows’ heavy arches.
In the mild
blue eyes the solemn anguish of a child
and here and there humility — not a fool’s
but feminine: the look of one who serves…
In “Self-Portrait” Afaa Michael Weaver explores himself as reflected in nature:
I see myself in the shadows of a leaf
compressed to the green blades growing
to a point like the shards of miles of mirrors
falling and cracking to perfect gardens…
The pointed leaves converge into pieces of mirrors — there’s the reflection — then fall and crack to “perfect gardens.” I imagine a self that is older, perhaps with wrinkles that create something perfect out of their brokenness.
And there’s always Maya Angelou’s triumphant self-portrait to consider in “Phenomenal Woman:”
And to a man
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet…
Angelou’s reflection is one of power and “joy,” a sureness of identity and place in the world.
Write a poem in which you describe yourself. Are you looking in a mirror, or like Weaver, do you see yourself reflected in something else? As you consider your image, what feelings does it trigger? What memories does your body hold? What story does your face tell?
