Mirrors by Laura Holt

What are mirrors but things made of glass,

Objects that will never answer our questions no matter how much we ask?

And we do ask, day after day,

Wanting and needing for worldly things gone astray.

What stories mirrors would tell if they could talk.

What places they have been although they can’t walk.

If you break a mirror, legend says, you get seven years bad luck.

That as those shards of glass fall, your life starts to suck.

Yet there is one mirror unlike the rest.

It did not break when put to the test.

This mirror, you see, is not an object at all,

But a man, who once laid his head on the wall.

A man who put his heart on the line,

Willing to sacrifice everything, including his life.

And when you look into his face, you no longer see yourself.

You see the one who died for you, and all the rest.

You know his name—Jesus, God’s own son,

Sent to Earth to die for our sins. The holy one.

His reflection, with its frame of blood-stained thorns,

Does not hang on a wall like those of yours.

It hangs in a secret place, deep in our hearts.

It is with us always. We are never apart,

Because when you believe in God, and his son on the cross,

Then no matter where you are, you will never be lost.

I will not tell you that hard times are no more.

Many days will pass before you come to that door.

Still, your life will be more than mirrors of glass,

All because of a question you asked.

For when God enters in and lives in your heart,

He, not a mirror, becomes the light in the dark.

Laura Holt is the author of Fathoms Below, Fathoms Above, Fathoms Between, Fathoms Across, and the forthcoming final book in the Star-Crossed series, Fathomless, as well as the award-winning poems The Man with Big Hands and Anatomy of a Toothpick, which was published in Pegasus Literary Magazine. When she’s not writing, you can find her stretched out on a yoga mat, hiking down wooded trails, or wandering the aisles at a local bookstore searching for her next great read. She lives in small-town Georgia with her daughter, three cats, and a lot of fake plants. Follow her on Instagram to stay up to date on bookish news, events, and book and music recs, or subscribe to her monthly newsletter for even more exclusive content and writer resources.