SIENE MICHELLE PALIZZI
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the mirror

The dimensions of what I see in a mirror 
In the coffee shop, layers—dimensions.

1, First 
Close up and lacing of ivy and sunflowers 
Wrap the mirror edge, so close you cannot tell 
Image virtual from actual, almost.

2, Next 
Two walls, one 90 degrees and one opposite, 
With a picture, a surreal one with window art 
Oft found in these sorts of places. One eye 
Bulging on it, reminding me of myself looking 
At the various coffee-goers.

2a, Again 
Other things along the wall, a Coke machine 
Nice competition or complementation, with 
The choice meal pastry and latte, say I’ll take 
A water, I say, or one of those fashioned Cokes 
In an old bottle.

3, Also 
The window TO the outside. I catch a glaze 
Of a neon OPEN sign, reminding me of NO VACANCY 
Instead, which I long for when the whirl of neighboring 
Chatter cuts into my work, my free thought, 
My mad dash at writing things down.

4, Outside 
Beyond the window, trees wavering in the wind— 
Something ALIVE and power lines containing tiny bits 
Of fancy communication and energy delivered in packets 
Faster than the speed of light, almost faster than anything 
That can be caught in the mirror. 
Into the future—do you see it?

5, Finale 
One other thing the mirror will NEVER reverse, 
While it catches glimpses all the time, of God. “For 
From Him and through Him and to Him are all things.” 
“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, 
After our likeness.’” Romans 11:36, Genesis 1:26. 
God, never fully reflected, or the devil.



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