Beware: Do Not Read This Poem

many mirrors
it got so bad that finally she
locked herself indoors & her
whole life became the

mirrors
one day the villagers broke
into her house, but she was too
swift for them. she disappeared

into a mirror
each tenant who bought the house
after that, lost a loved one to

the old woman in the mirror:

first a little girl

then a young woman

then the young woman’s husband
the hunger of This Poem is legendary
it has taken in many victims
back off from This poem
it has drawn in your feet
back off from This poem
it has drawn in your legs

back off from thias poem
it is a greedy mirror
you are into This poem. from

the waist down
no**** can hear you can they?
this Poem has had you up to here

belch
this Poem aint got no manners
you cant call out from This poem
relax now & go with This poem
move & roll on to This poem
do not resist This poem
this Poem has your eyes
this Poem has his head
this Poem has his arms
this Poem has his fingers
this Poem has his fingertips

this Poem is the reader & the
reader the poem

statistic: the US bureau of missing persons re-

ports that in 1968 over 100,000 people

disappeared leaving no solid clues

nor trace only
a space in the lives of their friends

/////

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QovAkEt6Fcs

Style

“Beware: Do Not Read This Poem” is written in free verse, which means there is no established pattern of rhyme and it is devoid of regular stanzas and meter

Themes

Isolation

The old woman introduced in the first stanza gets caught up in the mirrors and isolates herself from others. The mind-set of the villagers who break into her house is not explained; they could merely be checking up on her out of concern for her well-being, or her strange behavior may have provoked them into a confrontation. The old woman is so interested in avoiding the villagers that she escapes into a mirror. We cannot be certain whether the mirrors caused the old woman’s isolation or simply contributed to it, but, whatever the case, the woman, once in the mirror world, appears to have found that she is alone there — that she no longer has her reflection to keep her company. In the mirror world, the woman is probably alone and that could be the reason she steals people from the other side — to keep her company. Poems are similar to the woman’s mirrors in that they attempt to absorb readers. A reader who immerses him- or herself in poetry can become withdrawn from others and, in that isolation, look desperately for some connection in the words of others..

Perception

The old woman who disappeared into the mirror world snatches only young people from the real world. Alone and unreflected inside the mirror, she now desires the companionship of younger people. Or perhaps it is less a need for companionship than a selfish desire to surround herself with youth and deceive herself into thinking that she, herself, is young. She may even have deluded herself about her age before she disappeared into the mirror, based on her isolation and her obsession with her reflection. Forever looking into mirrors allows one to forget how much one is changing and getting older, because one is not able to assimilate all the small changes. When you have not seen someone for a long time, they look much older, whereas viewing your own image in the mirror everyday, you appear to almost stay the same age.