In the morning
After taking cold shower
—-what a mistake—-
I look at the mirror.
There, a funny guy,
Grey hair, white beard, wrinkled skin,
—-what a pity—-
Poor, dirty, old man,
He is not me, absolutely not.
Land and life
Fishing in the ocean
Sleeping in the desert with stars
Building a shelter in the mountains
Farming the ancient way
Singing with coyotes
Singing against nuclear war—
I’ll never be tired of life.
Now I’m seventeen years old,
Very charming young man.
I sit quietly in lotus position,
Meditating, meditating for nothing.
Suddenly a voice comes to me:
“To stay young,
To save the world,
Break the mirror.”
I meet my mother grandmother and my aunts in the mirror now. The ‘end of all our exploring’, right? We come to the beginning and ‘know it for the first time.’ At 19 I knew it was truth. Even more truth now.
I remember reading this poem when I was younger. For me, it's about how we rarely feel as old as our physical age. And with our minds, memories, imaginings we're often seeing life through the eyes of our younger selves.