Analysis of The Burden of a Mirror

Riordain Murphy 2005 (Wiarton)



A man approached me, dressed in shining gold;
The suit was one I’ve seen ten times before.
Behind him lurked a man who seemed quite old,
His scars told me he fought the recent war.

A day ago, I saw a pair of twins.
Their variance was clear to me like glass.
I might excel at memorizing skins,
But all I want is vision through their mass.

I see it all, except the vital parts
That make a person who they truly are;
I cannot see the pureness of their hearts.
To know their figure does not bring me far.

I yearn to know what stocks each person’s mind.
I might see all, but I am truly blind.


Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
Poetic Form Shakespearean sonnet 
Metre 0101110101 0111111101 0111011111 1111110101 0101110111 1100111111 110111001 1111110111 1111010101 1101011101 110101111 1111011111 1111111101 1111111101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 609
Words 134
Sentences 9
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 2
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 32
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 113
Words per stanza (avg) 30

About this poem

This is a poem I wrote to bring attention to the way we perceive and judge people, pushing the message to the audience that we could see every inch of a person's physical body, and we would not know a single thing about them, as what makes a person is what is on the inside. To convey this message, I wrote an altered states poem from the perspective of a mirror.

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Written on April 25, 2023

Submitted on June 16, 2023

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Riordain Murphy

A new, young, poet from a small town in Canada. more…

All Riordain Murphy poems | Riordain Murphy Books

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