Transfixed

As ripples rest upon the shoal,

An image becomes clearer:

A silhouette is rendered whole,

As the pool draws flush its folds,

And forms therein a mirror.

Atop the sheen the portrait sways,

It dances in the dark;

Take care to glance but never gaze:

Beware the wickedness displayed

Within this watermark.

Whose image floats atop the sheen?

From whither was it born?

This homunculus you see

Is not as it appears to be:

In deceit it is adorned.

Behind its eyes no soul you'll find,

It moves not on its own;

By your perception it's defined,

A doppelganger of a kind

Malign and mischief-prone.

When viewing via mirror-pond

Your double in the glare,

Glance only at the figure spawned,

Gaze not into what lies beyond:

Beware this Gorgon's stare.