Relationships with Mirrors - May 31, 2026

clouds of white spray greet me

with the drone of hair dryers

and the hot breath of blow dryers

It’s Friday, I’ve arrived at the onsite

salon at the retirement community

of Baywoods to pick up mom

half a dozen very senior women sit,

lapped in magazines or silence

watching beauty take its sweet time

and when she gets home, mom combs

out the stiffness, primps the quaff, stealing

glances as her head turns side to side

dare I say women have a cozy relationship

with mirrors - a partner that blends memories

with what they see into something attractive

where perhaps there are other men like

me who are reflection averse, needing only

to push a comb through any hair left

then quickly turn from the wrinkles,

the jowls, the droopy eyes and baggy lids,

and slip back inside our fantasy bubble

before bouncing off into the day

in our usual take-it-or-leave-it way