Year: 2003
Type: article
Abstract: There is a way he has of looking into the mirror that tells me he likes himself, but he isn't sure, each time he comes back to the mir ror, exactly what to expect. The expression he sees on this face is clearly friendly. All its features are pleasantly proportioned?even its hair flops into acceptable arrangements without much fuss. But he doesn't look at the mirror to congratulate himself on this. He looks at his face as though it has assumed its pleasant appearance out of pure good will. It likes him, and wishes to please. He appre ciates this: he smiles at the mirror just as he would at a friend who has done him an unexpected favor. From my tree I can see them greet each other, the man and the mirror. If he tried, if he knew exactly where to look and what to look for, he could see my reflection just above his right shoulder. Nothing distinct, just a dark object at the juncture of two thick branches in a massive pine, roundish with little points on either side that are my elbows sticking out as they hold up binoculars. But there is no rea son for him to look for me, and he never has. It's a little spooky watching him boil water for tea in the same red and purple kettle I have at home. Of course the kettle is a coinci dence?a present from my sister, not something I bought myself? but coincidences definitely contribute to spookiness. When we do our laundry, we fold the tee shirts, then roll them up, because they look sort of cool that way and you can find them more easily in the drawer. Who else does that? Our favorite late night snack is spaghet ti with olive oil and red pepper flakes. We carry rocks home from the beach and stack them into cairns in the corner of the living room. We have prints of Tibetan tankas on the wall, we like maps, blue bed sheets, certain shades of purple and dark green. I look at his book shelves and half my books are already there. I'm almost certain he's the one. But I've only been watching him for a month. This is so fast! I'm a little nervous.
Source: The Iowa Review
Author: Sharon Wahl
Institution: University of Iowa
Language: English
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W1425512612