THE HERO

BEYOND THE LOOKING GLASS

Mirror, mirror on the wall . . .
Who is the fairest one of all . . .

Out flew the web and floated wide . . .
The mirror cracked from side to side . . .
The cracking of this crystal sphere
Was greeted by a rousing cheer
A joyful cry that filled the air
From thinking women everywhere
The smashing of this narrow glass
Which lived to hurt and to harass
Pernicious magic; dark, arcane
Existed only to cause pain
The things it loved most to create
Were envy, rancor, gall and hate
It’s message spoke of surface things
The beauty of the wives of kings
Who in it’s depth would sit and stare
And wonder if they were most fair
It’s true intent was low and starker
Something deep and so much darker
It’s mission here upon the earth:
To prove that women have no worth
The things it hoped to bring about
Were fear, resentment and self doubt
To feed on woman’s greatest fears
And it had worked for many years
Generations it had held in thrall
With “whose is the fairest one of all”

It’s urgent that we understand
The duplicity this mirror had planned
It made the mirror laugh and exalt
When a woman thought it her own fault
It made the mirror extremely glad
When a woman thought that she was bad
It was the foul mirror’s fondest dream
To obliterate all self-esteem
And make a woman quail and balk
For wanting to hear its wretched talk
To keep her spirit in upheaval
Believing the wanting made her evil
To feel her feelings cloaked with grime
As if emotions were a crime
To make her feel she needed shrift
For owning the Goddess’ greatest gift
Nature’s magnificent work of art
A woman’s full, emoting heart

But now we’ve smashed the wretched mirror
Broken it’s hold; erased the fear
And it’s about time that it was gone
With all the pain it’s words could spawn
Turning women against each other
Friend and sister, daughter, mother
All that trash about who is best
“Who is better than all the rest?”
While all those words of false self-pride
Just bruised and wounded from inside
But, now we know it’s words are hollow
A new-found wisdom we will follow
Henceforward we’ll show lots more smarts
And believe the truth of our own hearts
We’ll scatter this dark glass on the waters
And build a new glass for our daughters
A smooth, clear glass that will project
Authenticity and self respect
With wisdom’s width and truth of length
To mirror a woman’s many strengths
A looking glass not made of sand
But shaped of things we understand
A mirror milled from moon and star
That shows exactly who you are

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Out flew the web and floated wide
The mirror cracked from side to side
Good riddance to that harping witch!
That mirror was always such a bitch!


©Edwina Peterson Cross