Stranger in the mirror by Shahida Seedat (Lucent Dreaming Issue 8)

I am looking in the mirror,
And what do I see?
A young father playing with his children,
By the deep, blue sea,
Holding their hands so tightly,
As the gentle tide advances,
Retreats.

Each grain of wet sand conjoined,
A wet blanket covering our feet.
Cotton white seagulls gliding in harmony,
Overtaking the glistening sun,
Giant rocks lay sleeping amongst the quiet waves,
As though they are one,
Cool cucumber sandwiches on thick brown bread,
Trying to reminisce on all the things they said,
This heavenly moment frozen in time,
This heavenly moment brings coolness to my eyes.

My children’s laughter ignites my soul,
Like beautiful angels, the answer to my call,
A sudden cloud of mist takes over and forms,
As my image fades away I start to transform.

I look further into the mirror,
And what do I see?
A frail, old man staring back at me,
My wondering eyes so empty and lost,
Gone is my strong physique so much I have lost.

The surroundings intrigue me I don’t know where I am,
I beg for someone to help me who are you Madame?
The answer I receive is of no sense to me,
She tells me she is my daughter but how can that be,
These strangers are adults,
I refuse to agree.

They tell me I have an illness that slowly overtakes my mind,
A life of cherished memories wiped out over time,
The memories they tell me about are so far yet so near,
My world is unknown, I don’t want to hear,
Tears fill their eyes Dad remember us please,
Who is their father they’ve mistaken for me?

Shahida Seedat is a teaching assistant who works at Sunninghill primary school in Bolton. She is a strong believer in positivity and being grateful for each day especially in these circumstances. For every smile she shares every morning she receives multiple back from the children that makes her job the best in the world. She loves to take pride in her work. Working in a school lets those precious memories resurface of how she used to love writing poems about anything that inspired her. She loves nature, to read and to spend time with her family and friends.

Buy issue 8 today.

Lucent Dreaming is an independent creative writing magazine publishing beautiful, imaginative and surreal short stories, poetry and artwork from emerging authors and artists worldwide. Our aim is to encourage creativity and to help writers reach publication! Subscribe to Lucent Dreaming now, support us on Patreon and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.