COMPETITION PROMPT
Write a poem or story about a mirror struggling with the fact that she has no identity of her own. (What could this be symbolic of?)
Broken Glass
Invisible, in this little glass booth
Sound enters my ear, then exits my tooth
Foreign ambassadors deliberate
Tone-deaf boss, joking inappropriate
I interpret his words just as uncouth
Then the next day, while chatting on the phone
My daughter chides, Mom, you must be a clone
You gotta know that you talk just like him
Biting words, my daughter’s criticism
My, when did my little girl get so grown
I’m a glorified spirit medium
With zero individualism
This flesh and blood microphone, echoing
Now echoes there will be a reckoning
Cue my disquieting delirium
One fine morning in a D.C. boardroom
Gaudy fluorescents like a car showroom
My boss praises its lively aesthetic
Rather, I quip the place looks synthetic
But am I still his parrot?—he’d assume
Critical meeting, time to push harder
Weeks in the making, take this stand farther
Final step of the negotiation
Needs one word—a simple affirmation
Instead, a ‘no’, barks this interpreter
Expecting sadness, yet feel elation
After immediate termination
Once trapped behind glass, my life a mirror
Echoless shards now carve a path, clearer
Wow, Mom, I love your new transformation