Mirror Mirror Memorial Wall

By Noah (’21) and Shirley Toumayan-Miller

The book of poems, Dien Cai Dau, written by Yusef Komunyakaa was one of my favorite poetry collections to read this semester. I read this book while my family and I were sitting around one evening. My mom cried. She cried with just about all of the poems. I sat down with my mom, and we wrote this poem together. It is our attempt at imitating Komunyakaa’s poem “Facing It.”

My sad face wonders why,
as I look at this wall that is built so high.
Too many names are carved into this granite,
as I read each one they seem infinite.

Mirror Mirror on that wall, how I loved you when you were so small.

When we were young we played pretend war,
then it was time to walk out that door.
We played for hours on the floor,
now we wonder why we score.

Mirror Mirror on that wall, remembering days that we played ball.

Remember learning our ABC’s?
Hey look now, we are huddled together overseas.
Side by side in the woods,
all of the pain that we have endured.

Mirror Mirror on that wall, winter, spring, summer, or is it fall?

Remember looking up in the sky,
We all thought that we could fly.
We looked up very high,
and thought that we could touch the sky.

Mirror Mirror on that wall, who is the fairest of them all?

Remembering days that you marched so tall,
when I look around, you seem so small.
Colors of white, black, yellow, and red,
all seem to blend together now that you are dead.

Mirror Mirror on that wall, why won’t you answer when I call?