CHIMERA
“Ever seen your pretty face, O’ My Queen?”
He asked me with a coquettish grin.
Nodded in yes, I was sure of the boon,
“Ah! They used to call me ‘The Moon!’
He smiled and catechized again,
I muttered, “See! My eyes, my mane!”
“Discern my question, O’ La Imbécile!
Don’t nod your head! Stop you, Beguiled!”
“Have you ever seen your face? Got you?”
“Yes! My love! All thanks to you!
I see ‘Me’ in your eyes day-n-night
You have made me the prettiest sight”.
He irked, asked, “Ever seen your eyes?
“Ah! They are sparkling”, I replied.
He said, “Your eyes look, weary, tired
Crows walk free, your eyes they hired.”
Night has made her abode under thine,
Your dark circles, the sigillum of time.”
“Ever seen yourself,” again he screamed
“My complexion! ‘Peaches and Crème'”
He ridiculed, said, “Eat thy Peaches,
Can they camouflage your blemishes?”
He kept on lambasting my vanity
However, I maintained my sanity
I showed him off my pride, my locks
Made sure, my beau now, never mocks.
He said, “You’re lost in my chimera
Your Gold crown is now a Silver tiara”
Hence, his question remained the same
“Have you seen your face, My Dame?”
Flummoxed, I asked, ‘What’s your take?
Call me “O’ Pretty” for once! My sake!”
Watching me weep, he then cried,
“Mi Lady! You’re my pride! My pride!
Your glimpse in me isn’t your real face
I show what you wish, a mere façade!”
Now, I discern my mirror’s fallacy
His Argentum holds my idyllic beauty,
Mirror Mirror on the wall! O’ Mon Amour!
Thy chimera makes me Curiouser and Curiouser!
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Glossary:
La Imbécile: A foolish lady (Latin)
Sigillum: A seal. Sealing documents with shellac or bee-wax was called Sigillography in ancient times. (Latin)
Argentum: Chemical name of Silver (Latin)
Mirror Mirror on the wall: A phrase from the fairy tale, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by Grimm brothers.
Mon Amour: My love (French)
Curiouser and Curiouser: Excessively curious. A phrase from the fairy tale, “Alice in the Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll.
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Epilogue:– Mirrors are chimera, difficult to discern and impossible to circumvent. This poem was conceived when someone asked me once, “Have you ever seen your face?” And, I haphazardly replied, “Yes! I look at it everyday in my mirror.”
Then, I realized that we can never see even a wisp more or less what our mirror shows us. Beneath the glass sheet and above the Stannous-Chloride-Silvering, what is seen is merely our perspective… absolutely different from the true visage we carry lifelong without even having a glimpse of it.
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Picture Courtesy:— Featured Image of this post is a painting by my dear friend, Vinita Saxena, a skilled and celebrated artist from Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh whom I admire a lot for her meticulous art. She is well known for her true to life portraits and landscapes. You can contact her for any kind of commissioned work on her email, vinitasaxena1970@gmail.com or even through Facebook messenger, Here.
I was looking for a complimenting image for this poem ever since I wrote it last year. Failing, I missed my sister, late Vineeta Mishra deeply who used to paint according to my desires. Then, I came across this painting on Facebook by her namesake, Vinita, absolutely complimenting my words…to Chimera, which speaks of the illusive Mirror. Strange are the ways of the Almighty! Isn’t it?
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