“Mirror,” a Poem by Jana Prikryl

I dreamt they took my shoulder, the left one
but my arm was still attached, the join
a thing I was unable

I only knew of it, so mind drew a picture
of me in the place
reorganized

Yet I saw it and I’m seeing it now as I tell you
I’d rather not discuss it but
relevant, potentially

Like that time the day pulled its costume on
so it could tell you this
in sequins

And while it changed it turned away from the mirror
it even covered itself when passing before the mirror
as if its reflection might have some power
might step out as the thing itself,
the night

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Excerpted from The Channel: Poems. Copyright (c) 2026 by Jana Prikryl. Used with permission of the publisher, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.