English poem
Impromptu
by George E. Merkley (1865–1904)
(Suggested on seeing a vain lady gazing at herself in a mirror.)
Gaze fondly on thy mirrored face, And there thine imaged beauty trace; But if, perchance by magic art, That mirror could portray thy heart, Down to the dust the glass thou’dst fling, That could portray so vile a thing!