the rear view mirror

there's the hall
mirror. framed in
black. the last
one you see before
leaving the house,
it's in a good place
to straighten
the tie, or to
check for shaving cream
left in an ear, or
a nick from the
razor leaving a
small blob of blood
on your chin. it
happens, but then
there's the bath
room mirrors too, all
bright and shiny,
fogged with steam,
speckled with tooth
paste, so hard to
clean once it hardens.
and the full length
mirror in the bedroom.
leaning behind a
door, rarely used
for anything other
than checking the
shoes, never anything
crazy or obscene,
but it's there
just in case,
and then there's
the mirror at the
top of the stairs,
a decorative sort
of thing, an antique,
which hardly holds
an image,and it's
distorted at best
in the shadowy over
head light, so many
mirrors, and then
the car has them too,
the flip down visor
has one, and the side
view mirrors, powered
and small, just enough
view. but my favorite
of all time, is
the rearview mirror,
the one i've been
staring at for awhile
now, as i drive away
from you.