She looks in the mirror at 70 years of age
and sees a woman much younger there
that it pleases her to see.
It’s as if she has near eternal beauty that
even the years cannot entirely erase.
But when she sees a photo of herself
it disappoints her to see an old graying woman
with wrinkles, lines and age spots on her face.
She finds the illusion of her youthful mirror beauty
as mysterious as how time that used to
practically stand still when she was young
races by faster and faster now that she is older
and worryingly closer to the grave.
Bob Boyd