Reflections

I look in the mirror,
The reflection I see is clear blue skies,
Tiny tufts of feather down clouds,
Sunlight glinting on golden curls
It’s a day at the beach in Sorrento
For a little girl in
Red bathers with a koala appliqué
She proudly wears her mother’s dark glasses
While she soars high on a swing
Then falls onto a bed of wood chips
She’s crying
Her father picks her up
And cradles her in his arms

Now there are two little girls,
Sisters, both golden-haired, licking ice-cream – blue heaven,
From Mr Shapaelis’ ice-cream shop
As they sit in the family car
And watch the seas pound Sorrento’s back beach
Wild, majestic, dangerous

The sisters explore the sheltered rock pools,
Feet sinking into sand
As they venture into the warm water
Searching for shells, starfish, seaweed

Then Mum, Dad, and two little girls climb to the lookout
Up there it feels like the top of the world
The wind howls its mournful cry, seagulls screech
But the little girls are unafraid because
Life is carefree, safe and secure with loving parents

I rub my eyes
Reflecting back at me is no longer a happy family
But an old woman still with golden hair
Her face wrinkled, careworn
A legacy of life’s worries
And in later years, illness
She looks tired and is frowning

Tears surprise me
And glint like dewdrops in the morning on her face
I angrily wipe them away
And turning from the mirror
Am filled with a deep sadness.