She first met the mirror when she was
about four and a half years old,
strutting around in Mommy's heels and pearls,
wanting to grow up just like Mama:
beautiful and
strong, intelligent, and
successful. She was
young, sweet and pretty,
dancing the years away
without a care.

Mother always taught her how to behave like a lady:
manipulate manipulation
ever so sweetly-
so gently-
so secretly-
discretely-
and smile.
Never cry unless you are
alone.

You must work hard to be happy,
and happiness isn't free.
(And remember happiness
can be taken away from you,
but don't let it look like it can, because
that's how you beat it.)

Always look in the mirror
to see  what everyone else can see.

Never feel sorry for yourself.

Lola was a clever, and rebellious girl,
politely mischievous, and prettily spoiled.
She learned to **** with
kindness, to
be so sweet it made her sick to her own stomach
and she simply wanted to run to the bathroom
and ***** all the undeserved
praise and adoration.

But, she soaked it all
up like a sponge, primping herself in front
of the mirror
every day.

And as she grew, the mirror stood there,
with years of little dresses, and mother's
jewelry, and cute new tights every Christmas
prancing across the glass; epitome of
a child: selfish, heartless,
innocent, sweet.

Mistakes could not be made,
and if they were,
they weren't mistakes.
She always painted over her sins like ornaments on a tree;
add a little glitter here, a little paint there,
and every thing will be
alright for everyone
to see.
Just smile, Lola, darling,
and breathe.
(Breathe.)

She is a classic and tragic beauty,
this Lola. One day,
she came to a realization
that shattered her mind.

She stood in front of the mirror
and as she looked, she found she could not
recognize the girl inside.

The girl in the mirror was all grown up, and
could be anyone she wanted to be. Except,
the girl in the mirror didn't look
like Lola, or sound
like Lola,  or do the things
Lola liked to do.

The girl looked happy there, in her pretty clothes,
her sparkling smile,
her polished shoes, but

Lola stood before the mirror
confused because she couldn't see herself.

Lola wanted to see herself.

She looked behind the mirror.
She discovered
that the mirror was different on both
sides.

One side was reflective,
and the other
was see-through.
But the side that was see-through were rose-tinted,
and made everything shimmer
and glow.

"Oh **** it,"
said Lola in a drunk rage one day,
and she punched the mirror
And watched it fall to the floor.

To hell with it, she thought, and picked up
the pieces of her shattered reflection,
and made herself a mask.
She glued them all
together, in the shape of her face, so that it
would fit only her.

She learned to like how the world looked
with rose colored lenses, and she supposed that
would have to do.

She wakes up each day, with a cup of coffee and,
a cigarette, putting on her make-up, her jewelry,
her mirrored mask--
like a a barbed wire fence
wrapped in silk ribbons.

Everyone smiles at her,
and she smiles too.

She can only see the the beauty
in everything she sees, and all eyes that look at her
can only see the beauty in themselves.

Lola keeps her mask a secret, so that everyone will
smile.

She doesn't mind that she's
invisible now.
The world smiles at her,
and she's free behind her mask.

Everything is okay now,
except

Lola regrets never asking the girl in the mirror
Who she was.

I know why Lola did it.
And I know she'll do it again.
Someone like me has got to leave
I've just gotta figure out when.

I know why Lola did it.
It wasn't just for fun.
It's taken me two years of tears
But now I've narrowed it to one.

I know why Lola did it.
She'd done it all before.
What a friend I have and then
Nobody will let me know any more.

Lola is the type to stay hidden in the grass,
In the past, in the night
One second I'm stuck here in fright.
She's still so young in her mind,
So unkind, so alive
Let me tell you I'm not a child.
Lola.

I know why Lola did it.
She couldn't stand the thought.
Of him choosing me over her
So she had to let him rot.

Lola.
Lola.
Why?

She was both finite and boundless, a cosmic enigma wrapped in human skin. The words echoed within her—a celestial mantra. Half-human, half-stardust. And as she danced upon the threshold, the universe leaned in to listen.

Lola, the wanderer of cosmic threads, stepped through the veil of time, her heart a pulsing star. The secret laboratory's humming machinery had whispered promises of forgotten realms, and now, here she stood—amidst the ruins of a city lost to memory.

Atlantis, the name echoed in her mind like a half-remembered dream. Its pyramids, not of stone but of light, pierced the cerulean sky. Crystal temples, their facets catching the sun's kiss, stood as guardians of ancient knowledge. And the people—oh, the people—they moved with grace, their forms aglow, their eyes reflecting eons of wisdom.

Lola's golden aura resonated with theirs. She felt the pull of destiny, like a thread tugging her toward a forgotten purpose. Was she a seeker or a savior? Perhaps both.

The streets flowed like rivers, and she followed their currents. Telepathic whispers brushed her consciousness—a symphony of thoughts, hopes, and memories. They spoke of unity, of a shared consciousness that transcended flesh and bone. Here, the veil between worlds was gossamer-thin, and Lola danced upon its fragile strands.

She approached the meditators—a circle of souls anchored to the earth, yet reaching for the stars. Their eyes, ancient and kind, met hers. No words were needed; their minds entwined like ivy on a trellis.

"Welcome, Lola," the collective voice murmured. "We have been expecting you."

Lola's breath caught. How did they know her name? Had she journeyed here before, in another life, when the stars aligned differently? She sank into the circle, her knees bending as if in reverence.

"Who are you?" she whispered, her thoughts a ripple in their cosmic pond.

"We are the keepers of forgotten tales," they replied. "The architects of dreams. We remember when the world was young, and the sun kissed our brows. We remember when Atlantis thrived, and its light pulsed through every atom."

Lola closed her eyes, surrendering to their communion. She glimpsed visions—the city's zenith, its downfall, and the cataclysm that swallowed it whole. But there was hope, too—a seed of ascension buried deep within the collective soul.

"Tell me," Lola breathed, "how can I prevent your fall? How can I weave a different fate?"

Their laughter was like stardust. "Child of many lives, you cannot alter the past. But you can shape the future. Atlantis lives within you—in your curiosity, your longing. Let its light guide your choices."

And so, Lola sat, her mind a prism refracting possibilities. She learned their secrets—the art of thought-shaping, the dance of dimensions. She glimpsed the blueprint of a world where pyramids soared, and hearts beat in harmony.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting Atlantis in hues of amethyst, Lola stood. Her golden aura pulsed brighter. She would return to her laboratory, her quantum device, but she would carry this city within her—a beacon of forgotten majesty.

"Remember," they whispered, "the bending knee—the surrender to wonder. It is the key to ascension."

And with that, Lola stepped back through time, her heart echoing the collective hymn of a city reborn.

Lola una kong nasilayang maging  tunay na nanay.
Pagmamahal sayo'y tunay na naramdaman.
Mabuting Pangaral ay sayo unang natutunan.
Minsan mo  mang napapagalitan at napapalo ito'y sa ikabubuti ko naman.
Katuwaan ay nakakamtan pag ikaw ay nasisilayan lalo't makita sa mga mata at labi ang iyong kasiyahan sa twing kami sayo ay dumadalaw.
Mga anak mo at apo ay nakukompleto para pangungulila mo ay maibsan.
Sa twing pasko ay paparating pananabik sa puso ay walang mapaglagyan dahil sa ikaw at ibang pamilya ay makakasalo.
Lola ikaw ang una kong naging tunay at tapat na kaibigan.sa tuwing ang puso ay may dinaramdam ikaw ang unang sinasabihan.mga pangaral na ibinibigay mo ay malugod kong pinapakingan.
Ngunit isang araw kami ay nagimbal ikaw daw ay may karamdaman,pilit ang oras ay hinahabol upang ikaw ay masilayan at makausap man lang.
Ngunit tadhana ikaw ay ipinagkait at damdamin ay sinaktan,nang malaman  na ikaw ay tuluyan ng namaalam.
Masakit ang yong paglisan,kirot sa puso hangang ngayon ay nararamdaman.
Pasko ay paparating na ngunit ikaw ay wala na
Sabi nila tangapin na lang ang yung paglisan,ngunit paano tatangapin kung ang puso ay hindi pa handa sayong pamamaalam.
Puso ay hindi parin matangap na kami ay tuluyan mo ng nilisan.
Pangungulila sa puso sana ay iyong maibsan,sa panaginip ko sana ikaw ay dumalaw.

My best friend is called Lola.
“It’s short for Dolores,” she told me,
before she became someone else.

She liked music, reading, English lessons at school, doing homework, dying her hair, cutting her hair, painting, drawing.
Anything that had creativity.

I gradually became to hate her
over the course of a few minutes
I saw a video about not being enough.
The comments were filled with:
“Everybody is so much prettier.”
“Why can’t I be like them?”
“I’m the ugliest of my friends.”
They all resonated with me.

Then I realised that out of all my friends,
she was the only pretty one.

I won’t bother describing
as beauty is subjective.
But, to me, she was everything
I wanted to be and everything
boys wanted these days.
She had multiple boys that liked her.

Me? You know the answer; don’t lie.

She never seems to take the boys anywhere,
she just talks to them civilly,
giving them mixed signals;
like my face.

I always make sure I look happy.
But it’s not right, even though I am.

The point is:
Lola is everything I’m not.
Lola has boys for plenty, yet look at me.
Lola has a balance between grades and life, but I can’t even regulate my emotions properly.
I hate Lola.

Lola was my best friend.
She probably got sick of me
so she moved on.
I can’t move.
I hate Lola.

The desire to make the rest of these words rhyme
Is immense!
Alas, I cannot do it.
All I can do is read Frost’s
iambic pentameter and wonder
just what has become of Lola C. Edwards?
It’s her tome that I’ve purchased for two bits
at this decrepit, yet beloved thrift shop.

The book became hers, according to her inscription,
in the year 1970.
Now, it belongs to me in 2014.
I bought it because it’s The Complete Poems of Robert Frost;
the same that resides in my father’s library
and was greedily scanned by my hungry eyes and inspired mind.
But, what happened to Lola, some years ago?
Was it the cancer? Did it consume her bones?
Was she surrounded by loved ones?
Was she all alone?
What else but death could force her to relinquish such a text?
Surely, she couldn’t have done so willingly.
Her estate has been sold.
Her knick-knacks dusted and boxed for their final voyage to The DAV.
Turned over to uncaring brutes that couldn’t care less about
her beloved crystal cake plate, now shattered, or the book
that I hold in my hand today.
Lola C Edwards shares her life with me.
Every time I open this compendium,
I shall celebrate her, this beloved stranger!
Because, we are alike, she and I
in that we have chosen the road less traveled by,
and that has made all the difference.
*
-J. Claywell
©P&ZPublications; 2014