if my mirror was a portal

by luna mcconnell

In my wildest dreams, I can shut my door, close my eyes and when I open them, I can look in the mirror and see someone different. I step into the wooden frame and stare, my room is the other place, the air is purple, the trees are bright blue and the sun is a lime green. Black bats fly over my head, pink goo oozes from the sky, emeralds and rubies cover the ground. I am purple, a dusty purple, not as dark as the air, just lighter than so that I can see my own hazy hue against the wild strangeness of this alien planet. I have scales and four hands, when I shiver, blue sparkles fall from my skin. My eyes are pitch black, my lips are a dark pink and my tongue is split and murky green. I look straight down at my feet, startled I realize, they are a homosapien color, my room is still a blue green, the second mirror on my wall shows me as I am, naked and confused. I turn back to my wooden mirror and there I see an alternate world. My mirror is a portal. I walk to the sheet separating me and and my violet counterpart, she walks closer to the glass, it is the first time I realize she sees me as much as I see her- she is confused about my brown hair and blue eyes. We lay our hands against one another, the same bewildered look on our faces. She closes her eyes and I look down at my hands, they turn a pale purple, I want to let go but I can’t, she’s holding onto my wrists, like handcuffs. I want to scream but I can’t, I look at her face, and it is mine. Brown hair, blue eyes, pink lips. She’s staring straight at me a puzzled look on her face, she opens her eyes and I am gone, I am gone. Stuck in place, frozen into the reflective glass of my mirror, looking at her. I want to be mad but I look down and I see the extra terrestrial ground and the second pair of hands, I want to be mad but I can’t. I can’t be mad at all, I let a smile sweep my cheeks, and I watch her- dancing in my room, putting on my clothes, sitting on my bed, reading my books...and all I can think is; damn, she’s beautiful. 

a note from the artist,

I had a dream I walked through my mirror and into an alien world and I made it into a poem about lovin urself. Everybody has those days where they wish they were someone different, I think everyone really is someone different somewhere unseen, and I think every version of you loves every version of you.