The Image in The Mirror: Facing Reality

The first of two interrelated poems

It eventually happens to everyone,
you wake up,
go to the bathroom,
turn on the light,
and avoid your reflection
in the mirror
until after two or three cups
of strong black coffee.

Finally,
after drinking enough courage
to fortify your mind
you go back the the bathroom,
look into the mirror,
and are frightened
by the ghost
of one of your parents
or grandparents
staring back at you.

After a shriek,
that could raise the dead,
and assuring your neighbors
or the police
that you have not encountered
a snake
in the toilet bowl;
you take another look
and realize
that the image you see
is your own reflection.

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