The central metaphor of the poem is the use of mirrors and reflection to represent one's perception of the self. The secluded mountain lake background shows that looking into a mirror is often done in solitude, and with the judgment of others stripped away, it is possible to see a facet of your true self within the reflection. This idea is seen in the first line, “the mirror is true.” However, in the animation, the reflection does not line up; the word true is capitalized and colored in shades of pink and blue. This represents that your “true” reflection is not the literal appearance in the mirror, but the intangible collection of thoughts and emotions only you can see, more bold and vibrant than the literal image. This is emphasized by the second line, “it is me,” which has a similar visual effect.
The third line, “the photo is wrong,” breaks the pattern; the mirror effect is lost, and the text fades in rather than falling, showing the static nature of a photo. The photo represents others’ perception of you. Everyone you meet gets a photo of you, but it is a still snapshot that rarely pierces the exterior, making it “wrong” even though technically accurate. The expanding red circle that fills the screen symbolizes the collection of surface-level perceptions that feel like they cover up your “true” reflection, trapping you in a shell of painful self-awareness that only enforces the falsehood.