Mirror Mirror on the Wall

Mirror mirror on the wall,

They say you don’t lie at all

They say you show that which we do not want to see

And that you cannot be lied to either

I believe many of us have stood before you

Demanding to know if they were fair

Or was there someone fairer than them

Whom they would need to usurp?

I believe madmen have come to you

Seeking the touchstone maybe

And they have found something else

Hidden in the truth you have told them

The last time I stood before you,

I saw Hellfire in my eyes

I saw something else staring at me

And I thought

“This is a lie”

Then, I looked closer

He had my eyes

My hair

My height

But he was not me

So, I went away and

I came back

And this time, like your cousin Erised

You showed me an image

Its eyes twinkled

And it had laughter lines around them

It winked at me and told me a joke

And I realised, this was who I am

Did you mislead me o mirror?

Or show me what I needed to see?

Did you bend the rules just a little

So a frightened person could see hope?

These queries have no answer

But this one does

Mirror mirror on the wall,

Who is the fairest of them all?

The Bilge Master