Summary Of The Poem Miracle Glass Co. By Charles Simic Analysis

In his poem “Miracle Glass Co.,” Charles Simic constructs a snapshot of an early morning moment in an urban setting. This snapshot conveys the surprising depth that can be found in a single moment and the ephemerality of such moments. His use of personification evokes a respect for the object of his admiration. Simic’s words serve to set the same object, a mirror, apart from his comparatively commonplace surroundings. The speaker’s voice, and the vivid images that Simic, conjures contribute to an ode to the mundane and a mirror, reflecting, quite literally, the world of the speaker, and its unexpected beauty, and the speaker himself.
The title, “Miracle Glass Co.,” offers an opportunity for analysis. By definition a miracle is “a marvelous

The images include, a “row of gray tenements, / A lone dog, / Children on rollerskates, / [a] Woman buying flowers.” (Simic 8-12) One might expect to encounter the aforementioned things in a conventional urban community. However, Simic finds them striking and unique. The beauty of these objects is not only rooted in it their apparent mundanity, but also in the fleeting moment in which they are perceived. The word “momentarily,” (Simic 5) stands alone, indicating a degree of emphasis. By including this detail, Simic is able to capture the ephemerality of the moment he depicts. The images from the second stanza are reflected in the mirror, for only an instant, and then they are gone, “never (to happen) again the same way.” (Simic 6) The beauty of the scene lies in its uniqueness and its simplicity. In the final stanza, reference is made to the mirror being “framed in gold.” (Simic 13) If the mirror itself is framed in gold, then everything that is reflected in it must be as well. By framing the scene in gold Simic places both emphasizes the value of the scene and its beauty. Additionally, the speaker pays his respect to the person carrying the mirror across the street, a person that he “can’t even see.” (Simic 15) By this point the speaker has found himself so moved by the fleeting moment of beauty that he

It would seem at first, that the speaker is merely an observer, musing on the ephemeral nature of a singularly beautiful moment. In that sense his narration is almost apostrophic, though he is addressing something that is clearly tangible, it is apparent that he is actually speaking to something almost divine in nature. Divinity is a quality that the speaker attributes to the mirror. On its own the mirror would be insignificant. In addition to the other objects in the mirror, the speaker also sees “someone looking lost.” (Simic 12) The identity of this “someone” may have been left intentionally ambiguous. As such it carries two possible meanings. The first, more literal, possibility is that the person is merely someone who is lost on the confusing streets of a city. The second possibility is that the person who is looking lost is the speaker himself. If the latter is true this could be indicative of two possibilities. The speaker may either be lost in a physical space, much like the person postulated in the first possibility, or he may be lost in a more existential sense. The latter could explain why the speaker seems to find beauty in the mundane. If he were questioning his own existence, or his relationship with the world, simply appreciating his surroundings might aid his return to normalcy, or make him feel more grounded. Simic uses the structure of the poem to shape the voice of the speaker as well. By using