Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE OLD MIRROR, by GERTRUDE RATHBUN


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE OLD MIRROR, by                    
First Line: The mirror hangs in the garret
Last Line: Has answered smile with smile.
Subject(s): Old Age


The mirror hangs in the garret,
Cracked and dusty and old,
But the little fiddler above it
Plays on in his frame of gold.
If he could speak of old days,
Many a tale he'd tell,
Various scenes have been reflected
Which he'd remember well.
A cold gray waste of ocean,
With billows pounding high,
A cabin made of rough logs
From giant forests nigh.
Once the mirror hung in a parlor
Over a huge fireplace,
And a girl bride paused before it
To gaze at her flowers and lace.
The curious eyes of the savage
On a day were mirrored back.
There came a time when its surface
Was sadly hid 'neath black.
Years later a soldier waited
With heart-break in his eyes,
To say farewell to loved ones
Before the sun should rise.
The black sheep of the family
And those whose wool was white
Have been reflected in it,
But it seldom mirrored fright.
The red-coated man above it
Still plays his fiddle the while,
And the glass below, through all the years,
Has answered smile with smile.





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