Mirrors (By Stephen Lovegrove)

I stand here,
in a seemingly endless hallway;
one person in the midst of many,
yet alone.
The path stretches out for miles
in front of me and behind me.
At first, I am confused
and bewildered.
I turn the corner
and see mirrors -
row after row of them.
People walk by,
glancing quickly at some
and glaring at others.
At first, I wonder
what makes these mirrors
so fascinating.
They all look the same.
Then I realize
each one contains a reflection,
not of the person standing before it,
but of another individual
all alone
somewhere in space.
As people pass by,
they make their comments.
They all have something to say.
A few of them make nice remarks.
Most are critical.
I begin to join the game.
It is so fun,
so addicting.
I get to say whatever I want -
I have comments about everything;
their faces, their clothes, their personalities.
It becomes a game.
Then suddenly,
it is all gone.
All the mirrors disappear.
Now
it is just the onlookers -
puzzled and afraid.
A voice is heard;
I am not sure
where it comes from.
But I know who it is.
“You were saying?”
It’s God.
He only says three words,
but that is all that is needed.
We all understand.
These people -
the ones in the mirrors -
are His friends,
His kids,
His creation.
He made them;
He understood them;
He loved them.
I watch as the crowd stands
awkwardly,
silently.
We didn’t have a clue
what we were doing.
We didn’t even know what we meant
half the time.
We just wanted to say
something,
and we did.
But it hurt people.
It hurt God.
Now it hurt us.
I thought I ruled the world,
but I ended up
destroying it.
I thought I knew all about people;
all I really knew was
how to hurt them.
I loved mirrors
until I saw myself in one.