Seneca's Mirror
That pinprick of dense darkness
glows with intense energy.
Helpless, I am sucked into its vortex
irradiated by many-coloured lines
radiating to a white ground
crazed by fine red pulsing canals.
That first razor stroke cuts,
slices through warm lather.
Day-old stubble blackens, thickens
and blunts the finely-honed edge.
A drop splashes into clear, warm
basined water. Invisible swirls
and eddies become visible.
Is this what Seneca watched
when he slashed his wrists
at Nero’s impetuous order?
No doubt his mirror shone
in dying daylight unlike
my pimpled painted wall.
Page(s) 12
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