Mark Fleckenstein

Self-Portrait from a Mirror’s Perspective

How another year started: wore his clothes,
answered the phone, listened to music,

tried to read books, made conversation.
Language, always language, all his

invention. Door, book dust, fooled objects.
Heroically, he holds a patched shadow!

Camus got it wrong, there’s more than one
philosophic question – what’s next?

The habit of one’s-self – calamity,
artless, pretentious, preposterous.

The idea, photographed and missed most easily.

About the Author

Author of nine poetry books and chapbooks, Mark Fleckenstein received his BA in English from the University of North Carolina in Charlotte and his MFA in Writing from Vermont College. Mark has given poetry readings with famous poets (Charles Simic, Linda Gregg, Mark Doty, Mark Cox and Carl Phillips) and not so famous poets.