Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

"Mirror, mirror on the wall! Are you an object of mystery, power, fear, justice, and inspiration?"

"Archimedes' soldiers could have used mirrors to burn the Romans' ships. So, mirrors are an object of victories, too!"

I am an ancient mirror! I was new hundreds of years ago, and tsars, queens, princes, slaves, and servants admired themselves or shed tears of unrequited love before me! Henry VIII, the biggest narcissist of all times and nations, swore to himself, great, handsome, and glorious. James I, the son of Mary Queen of Scotland, made faces or picked his nose, looking into me. Ha-ha-ha! I am a god in many faces!

How many praises, hatreds, or words of love have I been told, and do I still remember the faces? I am more valuable than the purses of the richest people as I am the keeper of priceless secrets! Oh, what secrets I know! Intrigues, murders, and love cheating stories are still in my memory. I am an Encyclopedia of hidden information! Not digital! At all! You can push a button, and your piece will disappear. My memory would not vanish. It is written by my heart! You can torture me, and if I don't reveal a secret, you can break me into pieces, and your secret will stay saved in one, sparkling under a tree on a sunny day.

What a power of us, mirrors! Big or small, in hand or on the wall, we have always represented reality, wisdom, and awareness. We can evoke strong feelings and help see the hidden parts of us where mirrors store the reflection of shame. Perhaps this is Napoleon's image when, in eighteen-twelve, he undertook his invasion into Russia with six hundred thousand troops and returned with one hundred thousand in six months, or the image of white military men killing and pushing further and further to the West native Americans, or a white woman face, throwing a black girl from a bench to sit her child in a park or on a bus. Step on me and stomp, break me, but each fragment will store these events of shame.

I am proud of myself as invaluable due to the history of the generations I have served. I am antique! I have funny bubbles on my face. The greyish color of my surface says, " Yes, buddy, you are old but still look good!"

I remember somebody's reflection of sorrow and happiness, hope and despair: Catherine the Great, her eyes full of tears, crying and praying for a baby she could not conceal for many years, and her smile reflecting in me with her son. Will the centuries be able to erase it? I have no buttons to push! Not a single device can overpower my power! Mirrors are forever!

A poorly beaten enslaved woman in the field took a tiny mirror fragment from her pocket to glimpse at herself, remove a treacherous tear, and proudly wear her woman's honor! A gallery of these decent women starts with Phyllis Wheatley, Harriet Tubman, and Mary Prince and has no end!! Thousands of these brave, smart women and fighters for their future are in my mirror's eyes.

Women of France! The world follows you! You have the right to be honored and remembered. Joan of Arc was the savior of France. She was nineteen while proudly walking to the stable to be burned! In men's clothes with short hair, she, unnoticed, looked into a piece of a broken mirror squeezed in her tiny palm to seal her image forever in the memory of people, and I carry this memory for centuries. I will keep storing the images of strong people, heroes, and characters until my last broken fragment.

We don't like weakness and emptiness, but they are like life and death. No emptiness- no fullness, no failure- no success! One short glimpse is enough for us to perpetuate the image of a person in a gallery of honor.

I remember the Holocaust when young Jewish women kept mirrors under their hearts to look at and be proud of themselves, brave and worthy living people, or World War II at the concentration camps in cold barracks; women kept a fragment of a mirror to look into after splashing icy water into their exhausted faces. They prepared to die but never like cowards. Mirrors keep the images of their faces as the most valuable icons in the world. These icons are on the building walls with the portraits of firefighters, police officers, and passers-by who protected somebody's life, and we look into their faces like into a mirror, trying to find the reflection on how to be devoted to others.

People live in a world of mirrors. Thanks to Justus Von Liebig, we have been widely available for people since eighteen-thirty-five. He covered our surface with a thin layer of metallic silver, and we became even more powerful. Nowadays, we help people recover from problems with their eyes, ears, and reproductive organs. We, mirrors, make the reflection of diseases and help treat them.

Have you ever stood in front of a huge mirror with your family, friends, or classmates? Of course you have! The reflection of your face was blurry, and you didn't see any particular features on your face. When you stand close, I will reflect your freckles and spots and reveal your makeup, and not only that. A mirror will concentrate and show your moods and troubles. Stand before me, look into my eyes, and no words would be needed to tell your happy or sad story; eyes mirror your soul! Give me a big smile, and I will return it to you and sparkle your face, and you will feel the power of me, an ancient mirror, and I will keep your big smile for many generations ahead.

Unfortunately, mirrors cannot do all jobs for you; you must do your best to struggle for yourself and your family, but if you tell me you will do your best, I will reflect your efforts to your best success.

Walking on a sunny day, you see your reflection on buildings and floors. You could try fixing your makeup in the stores with bright lights in front of a glittering pot or silverware. Mirrors and bright surfaces attract you as if you are in a magic world. You are! But be careful. Some mirrors are crooked; they don't focus or concentrate, so you look funny, clumsy, and ridiculous. It is a trap! If you don't focus on your goals, life, and family, you feel miserable because you are in a crooked mirror condition. Please do your best to rush out of it and look into me, an ancient mirror that will always tell you the truth, " Strong and great are forever in mirrors; they stop time, become portraits, and represent the dynasties of great personalities."

I am an old mirror; I saw wars, peace, beauty, and horror, but I am powerless in the face of callousness, greed, betrayal, and cowardness because we cannot reflect them for you to see them, but you fight them for me. Please!