Meeting Your Reflection on an Elevator in D.C.
as if realizing for the first time
your mirrors are made of glass
and can shatter with a single touch
and can see through you
as if haunted,
a ghost thing
afraid to
be called soul
(
because—fragile
because—why must I myself bare
to be
)
afraid to be noticed,
every eye noticing
your tongue, wavering as you whisper
no, stop
and every mouth swearing
by your teeth, shining as you scream
yes, please
surely you welcome
this study of your body
and its many wounds
(
for it is merely vessel,
and you, merely passenger—
darkness reflected
where your face should be
)
Alexandra Corinth is a disabled writer and artist based in DFW. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in SWWIM, Glass, Mad Swirl, Thimble Literary Magazine, Atticus Review, among others. Her poem, “A Guide for the Visitors of Solovetsky Monastery” was chosen as a top 10 winner of the Writer’s Garret’s 2018 Common Language Project. She is also an editorial assistant for the Southwest Review. You can find her online at typewriterbelle.com.