Initial Impressions

Ella Witney

i’ve read the mind changes images
reflected in the mirror
our thoughts make reality
an illusion
so i will not be horrified by my true form 

the vessel i inhabit is temporary
a repository for my conscience  

to disconnect
change my form
become something new
a hideous creature 
of fragile body and insecure mind 

what does not translate
through 
shiny display
the years of repercussion
the
reluctance 
the resentment
the regeneration that went into who i’ve become 

mirror mirror
show me who i am 

what is my body worth
when i am but a thought 

how can another
know who i am
not experienced in
the full spectrum of my conscience 
only a foreign perspective 

i cannot be known 

Author: Ella is a Brisbane-based writer and poet. Currently she is studying a Bachelor of Fine Arts, majoring in Creative Writing at Queensland University of Technology and works on the content team for ScratchThat magazine. As a third-generational member of Brisbane’s folk scene and an Irish Fiddler, Ella is inspired by traditions and lore, and is always on the look-out for what can be amended to better suit modern audiences. Her works include elements of fantasy, psychological, and horror, and explores the way mental health affects individuals

Artist: Zoe Hawker is a multi-disciplinary student artist working with sculpture, installation, and painting. Her self-reflexive practice aims to decode the absurdities of our current culture.

Editors: Bea Warren and Euri Glenn