A mirror can see without looking.
It can open a closed door
And gather the silence of night
Like a window without stars.
It can span rooms like its own arch,
Appear unexpectedly, like a naked shoulder,
And spill wine across a bed.
It can catch romance at a glance,
Light candles in another room.
Cultivated, it can grow ferns and flowers,
Keep birds or swim with fish.
A serpent can creep across its surface
Like a snake-tattoo on air.
A mirror can show pictures on a mantle
But obscure space for the particular.
A mirror can fold time
Into a blank place of reflection
Or finish a thought like an empty image.