“Reflection” by Joni Karen Caggiano

White is the oval mirror of my exodus from the fearsome actions of the monsters in the red-brick house.  Dark eyes blister as my heart pulses a bleak opus once again.  An offering given by a stranger concealed with golden paper and wildflowers singing. After five years of her pleasure, I perceive the wonder of the gift and grasp the stranger’s identity.  Such a beautiful thing I had never seen.  Her face was an alluring light, blazing like the sun, for she was an angel.

Gazing intently into the mirror, I quickly initiate the smooth passage of her gelatinous cavity. My slip is now a glowing covering of layer upon layer of silk worthy of a queen. Greetings take place from the mermaid who visits from the pristine waters. Her voice comes forth like a rainbow of colors. Purple periwinkle smells of freshly baked cookies. Humans with incandescent wings sit on green moss that never stops humming. Sacred is the knowledge the purple birds share as they fly in this world of peaceful beings.  

Green vines climb daily, covering this world with the fresh smell of love, laughter, and harmony. Elves wander close to hoary trees talking in the language of our Maker as they sit on the shelf of her noble roots. Thereupon the thickset moss is the mother of all fairies.  When she speaks, even hummingbirds in torpor withdraw from hibernation to listen. In anticipation, I wait when this world of bliss suddenly begins to move in waves and a loud sound penetrates her graceful curves.  

I’m now back in my room.  My feet feel the cold of the red concrete floor, and my bed is still unmade.  My mother is drunk, pulling my hair, as once again, I grow small.  Her words pierce like a shard of glass in my heart.  I pray she overlooks the small piece of white silk hanging from my oval mirror.

Copyright © 2023 Joni Karen Caggiano

All Rights Reserved

Joni is an internationally known and published poet, photographer, and author. She is a co-author of the Amazon #1 bestselling poetry anthologies “Wounds I Healed: The Poetry Of Strong Women,” and “Hidden In Childhood, A Poetry Anthology,” and she has contributed to several other anthologies.  She is a regular contributor to MasticadoresIndia, MasticadoresUSA, and Spillwords Press NYC, where she has been twice nominated and won Publication of the Month for “Love Me Like A Luna” (November 2022). She also was a 2023 Co-Winner of “Socialite Of The Year”.  Joni shares her story as a surviving Adult Child of Alcoholics (ACOA) in her blog, “Rum And Robots” Her complete list of books, anthologies, magazines and contests can be found in her blog’s Publications page.  Joni’s blog is an effort to help other ACOAs through faith and a strong kinship with nature. Joni is also a retired nurse. You can follow Joni on Instagram and Twitter.

Featured Image: Courtesy of Pinterest

Editor: Barbara Harris Leonhard

Amazon Best-Selling Author

Three-Penny Memories: A Poetic Memoir (EIF-Experiments in Fiction, 2022)

Pushcart Nominee, 2022

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Divider Image: by GDJ on Pixabay