A photo taken of us
You and I
Is what the others see
But the photo is reversed
In the eyes of the child
In ‘photo right‘ the child
May deny your right arm
Is around Mommy
You look at the Stranger
Across from you
On the subway
She is ‘opposite‘ you
In flesh and by metaphor:
What‘s visually your left field
Is factually her right side
Her wedding ring
At visual right is
A wedding ring misplaced
Ring on the ‘wrong‘ finger
You wonder if she‘s a widow
Smile at your foolish mistake
Behind her you can see yourself *you‘ve never really seen yourself
In the darkened subway window* a photo comes the closest
Lit by the light of the train until you learn they lie
Reeling between the stations
The familiar image is ‘flipped‘
Like a mirror‘s clever facsimile
Yet not quite the same
As your reflected left shoulder
Feigns illusion—mirage of being
Behind her —
Riding on a bus
And your left arm mirror image
touches her right arm
In your field of vision
You have seen your source of alarm
And lean forward
Toward the woman across to say
Lips barely moving:
Your left cheek is bleeding
But she touches her right
The opposite cheek from
Where she is seeing
Your hand touch your own
As though you were a living mirror
You smile and shake your head:
No the other side
Offering your handkerchief
She accepts
All errors corrected
Except
The one you might be about to make
While the last car pulls into the stop
And the doors open wide.