The Vanity Mirror by Rochelle M. Anderson

A large tree in the middle of green woodland. Large white text reads: The Vanity Mirror. Smaller text reads: Discussing disability in fairy tales and folklore.

In the bathroom, look in the mirror
and see my reflection. In my mind,
I see a child aged eight who spends
all day looking for the Four-Leaf clover
and blowing the biggest bubble possible.
 
In a flash, the light changes,
and you look into the magic mirror,
see a young adult twenty-eight years old.
I ask the mirror if I will have a happy life.
The mirror says “Yes, Rochelle”.
I am grown up, will I find a job?  I often see
glimpses of my eight-year-old self in the
reflection, and remember those times with pride.
 
Another moment, now the mirror is cracked.
I see a changed person struggling, unhappy,
and troubled.  Much sadness and misfortune
visible in the distorted image. 
 
At the end, I look in the mirror
shattered into many pieces.
I see the lines in my face that
show all the troubled times,
the sorrow.  Can I continue my life,
or am I ready to let it all go?

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About the author:
Rochelle M. Anderson lives in Minnesota, USA. She is an attorney who had a severe stroke in 2007 and almost died. She is still disabled with difficulty walking, and because of aphasia struggles with reading and writing. Ms. Anderson is the author of Stormy Road: Reawakening from Stroke and Aphasia. She has been published in four chapbooks, and several online and written poetry collections. Writing poetry has helped her recover, and dictation fuels her words.