The truth of the mirror

The truth of the mirror                                                                              
 
The crooked shall be made straight
and the rough ways made smooth – scripture
 
of great comfort to one twisted and coarse,
pent within a shell I’ve been unable
 
to peck my way through. 
Made straight and smooth –
 
but only after facing entirely
the degree of my crooked roughness.
 
Standing up to the truth of the mirror,
releasing one-by-one the makeshift
 
sticks and stems, fig leaves and rags
which conceal me from no one but my trembling self.
 
O child of God, take heart in your every pang.
New birth requires a long, doleful labor.