"Mirror" By Sylvia Plath

I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
I am not cruel, only truthful --
The eye of a little god, four-cornered.
Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall.
It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long
I think it is part of my heart. But it flickers.
Faces and darkness separate us over and over.

Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me,
Searching my reaches for what she really is.
Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.
I see her back, and reflect it faithfully.
She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.
I am important to her. She comes and goes.
Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.
In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman
Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.

This poem, although written by a very "dark" poet, has something special. Reflections are such an amazing thing to talk about because they are you and no one else. When looking at your reflection you can't hide anything or pretend, for that time, in the mirror, or in water, what's looking back is exactly what is there, imperfections and all. My favorite lines of this poem are in the beginning when she says, "I have no preconceptions. Whatever I see I swallow immediately" and then later she states, "I am not cruel, only truthful." These three lines are what i believe makes the poem come to life. Making the mirror seem real, like it's a person not judging you and not holding any grudges. Although towards the end of the poem it gets to be a little bit more depressing when it speaks of the young girl lost within the women. I believe this poem has a whole is beautiful and worthy of reading.