鏡花水月

鏡花水月" 
kyōka suigetsu

1.   n. (Japanese) - lit. "flower in the mirror, moon on the water"; flowers reflected on a mirror and the moon reflected on the water's surface; something that is visible but having no substance; the subtle and profound beauty of poems that cannot be described in words

a sound of something breaking
i awake from sleep
a sound full of unfamiliarity
thick ice begins forming over my skin

gentle breath of petals scattering
on the glassy surface of a mirror
the reflection of a withered flower
is anything but the truth

palms flat against the cold plane
a face imprisoned underneath
reaching out for that flower
fingertips brushing across its petals almost

cracked visage which cannot be touched
gazing through the fourth wall
into the alternate dimension
lips curved into a phantom smile
forever etched into the ice

the fragments of spring gently fade away
bound within the mirror
the scent of the flower's pinkish tint lingers
a flower bloomed upon a palm

the smile arc of a crescent moon
wavering on the water's surface
a crack on this frozen lake
where fingers are gingerly dipped into

like a hesitating doe by the water
tracing patterns across the reflection
of a flower blooming on the river bed
neck sore from the position
a landing petal breaking the stillness of the night

the paper thin layer of glass
separating two universes
will melt and flow away
spring will return someday

sleeping beneath the moonlight
incandescence of an unchanging moon
a bed of poison ivy next to the mirror
perishing in a daydream

hands still outstretched in a delusion
of a fleeting glimpse of a lifelong dream
the flower seen that day
fake truth that is reflected within a mirror