"Good Mirrors are not cheap" by Audre Lorde?

Question

POEM:

It is a waste of time hating a mirror
or its reflection
instead of stopping the hand
that makes glass with distortions
slight enough to pass
unnoticed
until one day you peer
into your face
under a merciless white light
and the fault in a mirror slaps back
becoming
what you think
is the shape of your error
and if I am beside that self
you destroy me
or if you can see
the mirror is lying
you shatter the glass
choosing another blindness
and slashed helpless hands.

Because at the same time
down the street
a glassmaker is grinning
turning out new mirrors that lie
selling us
new clowns
at cut rate




MY QUESTION:

Could someone analyze this poem for me?
At first I was under the impression that this poem symbolizes some sort of inner turmoil within ones self... (regrets, mistakes, realization, etc...)
but I cant help but feel that this poem has something to do with segregation (especially when looking at Lordes biography and poetry history.)

Thanks for the help!

Additional Details

(I havent been on Y!A in ages....)

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

This poem reflect the person Character, Through the Reflection of the Mirror. Wrong doing, even the Good doing of Himself/herself. If you Break the mirror of glasses you are still not hurt by your flesh only break the mirror your sins and lawless deeds still remain. what would you do if you step out of the both reflection and self? That would mean what you see that Shape of yourself. Glassmaker is only making glasses/mirrors that want to turn out self- beauty. But instead human beings see the Ugly side of it.

Source(s):

This Anwer is seriously analyze by me; Andrea. All the Mistakes, regrets, realization are only a reflection of it, because of human errors. The Beauty that suppose to be seen was blinded. Beauty turns into the Ugly side. And all that the person sees is the Ugly, sinful, lawless, errors. That also means this poem wants us To Know THE BEAUTIFUL SIDE OF US.

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Thanks alot! Your analysis was extrememly insightful.

Answer 2

I think it say that the mirror won't tell us what we want to hear, won't show us what we want to see.

yes - regrets, mistakes, realization

Answer 3

I think this poem is talking about having some sort of inner-confidence for yourself. It's describing not the mirror as the evil one but the person who makes the mirror. As if that person is monopolizing everyone of his customers. It's kind of depressing, actually. It has a very pessimistic, yet egocentric, view throughout the whole thing. And I believe that what you were thinking originally is close to correct; about it being about regret/ remorse.

The regret would be getting that mirror in the first place; because the narrator says that mirrors aren't the one's lying, but the very creators of those filthy things. It's really hard to describe overall, but I think if you understand what I'm trying to get at, it'll be easier for *you* to understand as well.


nyeah? :]

[[edit]]

...and the creators purposefully making distortions in their mirrors, altering our perception on anything - our reflections, etc.





:]