By bittersweet epiphanies
We come to know our flaws.
The crazing of our porcelain,
The warping of our rails,
The static in our broadcast,
our small and epic fails.
They're triggered by a teacher
With a condescending tone,
The bully in the playground
The office or at home.
In the mirror that they offer
Darkly etched for all of time,
Gaunt and ugly, our reflection
Less our shattered paradigms.
© 2013 Frederick Andrew