Fools Looking for a Mirror

The fool goes looking
for a mirror early;
to find one in the street
is an easy opportunity.

The reflection
looks just like his reflection:
“we’re both the same,
put face to face!”

To equalize from underneath,
what a sorry fate!
To wallow in the mud,
wouldn’t that be better?

Mirror, mirror,
dimmest in the realm,
says I’m an athlete
when I’m a lamebrain.

The same and the plain
two-legged mirror, 
this sad symmetry
makes the two of us the same.

A mirror’s shine
is its reputed virtue;
two mirrors face to face,
what do they reflect?

A mirror’s shine
is its reputed virtue;
two mirrors face to face,
do they look like me?

Sipping sucking mirror,
mirror of fools:
once you’re caught in the middle
it’ll suck you off.

Mirror, mirror,
dimmest in the realm,
says I’m an athlete
when I’m a lamebrain. 

Translated by Elizabeth Macklin

Manipulazio estrategiak (*Zart, 2020)