Who is this person I see in the mirror?

Not me.

He looks healthy and content.

No hint of the aches and pains

Of continued existence,

The failing hearing and heart

That bring their own doubts and uncertainties.

I say the mirror lies,

But it reflects the exterior shell,

So other people don’t see

What I know to be true.

If there were a true mirror,

It would show the whole truth,

But could we live with that?

What if it were to show emotions too?

The failings of our history?

Others would look at us in such a mirror,

And discover what we really are.

More importantly, we couldn’t fool ourselves

With convenient excuses,

And our own lies,

Created so we can live with ourselves.

Or would that mirror also lie?

Show just a veneer of our lives?

And would we look in such a mirror and say,

Who is this person I see in the mirror?