Mirrors for Reflection

Let’s write together.

Dave Wooley is just beginning his transition into a new career as a member of the School of Education at Penn State University in Curriculum and Instruction. Previously, he taught English, Journalism, and Creative Writing at Westhill High School in Stamford, Connecticut. His teaching has been framed through his involvement in Hip Hop music and culture as a rapper and DJ, and he has taught several classes about hip hop as a craft and as a cultural movement. He has been involved with the Furious Flower Center for Black Poetry as a participating scholar in its last three Legacy Seminars and he is one of the authors of Furious Flower’s newly created open access syllabus, Opening the World of Black Poetry: A Furious Flower Syllabus. Dave and his family recently moved to Pine Grove Mills in Centre county, Pennsylvania. 

Inspiration 

September, obviously, is a pivotal month for educators as we gear up for a new school year. Those new beginnings have always been rooted in reflecting on past practices and past experiences. In my family, since 2001, September has been an especially essential time for reflection. My father, a NYC firefighter, answered his last call on September 11th, 2001 at the World Trade Center. So every September is a time for us to reflect on the time we’ve had together, how we are doing in the present moment, and where next our path might lead us. It’s a good time to take a look in the mirror, literally and figuratively, and take stock in where we are, where we’ve been, and where we are going. 

A poet that is really instructive for me in this moment is Yusef Komunyakaa, as his use of structure, imagery, and theme often resonate with the idea of reflection. Two poems, in particular, come to mind–one is “The Towers”, which is written about 9/11, and the other is “Facing It”, which is about a Vietnam veteran’s visit to the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Washington DC.

“The Towers” uses a structure in which the poem’s two stanzas are structured to look like the twin towers–mirror images of one another. Komunyakaa writes the stanzas in the form of direct address, the first beginning, “Yes, dear son,” and the second beginning with, “No, not one” to create a counterpoint. “Facing It” is literally about looking into the mirror-like structure of the black granite wall of names that is the centerpiece of the memorial–a literal moment of reflection. “My clouded reflection eyes me/ like a bird of prey, the profile of night,” he writes.

Process

For your poem today, I’m suggesting that you lean into the metaphor of the mirror and reflection. Perhaps you’ll choose to write a poem where the structure creates a mirroring effect, as in “The Towers”. Or you could choose to make use of the imagery of reflection and what that imagery tells us about our present and our past and the relationship between the two. You could even choose to write an “After” poem, with your poem reflecting the work of another poet, or a previous poem that you’ve written that you’d like to revisit. 

You might even choose to check out a couple of the prompts about reflection and memory in the EthicalELA e-book 90 Ways of Community: Nurturing Safe & Inclusive Classrooms Writing One Poem at a Time for inspiration. Reflections of Hope in My Mother’s Eyes (p. 248) and Re-Encounters (p.162) come to mind.

Dave’s Poem

After the Towers

After Yusef Komunyakaa

Yes, 
it was a brilliantly
beautiful morning. The
Sun spilled light and warmth
to saturation. Nothing could be
Wrong, it seemed to say. 
This is morning in America;
even the traffic was light.
The first clouds in the sky
rose from the ground, man made, 
disturbing peace
Hope collapsed
blighting the light. 

No, 
today is not particularly
Sunny. Gray clouds obscure
the light. Dark mountains
surround this valley,
and yet blue skies peak
through between the clouds
And the horizon. 
These dark clouds 
Yield heavy drops of rain and,
Stubborn,
Hope grows
like a weed.