the old man that i see...

i looked at my mirror
and my mirror looked back
but something was wrong
cause i don't look like that

who is that old guy
living in there?
and why's he so fat
and where is his hair?

such a hideous thing
he appeared to be
then i realized
he was making fun of me

how dare he have fun
at my expense
who's he think he's fooling
it doesn't make sense

i know what i look like
in my mind's eye its clear
its the way that i've looked
for over ten years

the hairs in his nose
the over-sized pores
well if he's going to insult me
then, of course, this means war

so i scowled at the stranger
as if about to attack
and you know what he did?
the old man scowled back

i jumped back from the mirror
and he did the same
apparently both us
could play the same game

with my fiercest expression
i edged towards the glass
determined to scare him
away at the last

we both popped up
at the same count of three
and once again
he was a parody

my face was a warrior's
but his was a clown's
and after a few moments
my resistance was wore down

i cracked a smile
and started to laugh
and to my surprise
the old man smiled back

i chortled and snickered
and slapped my knee
and what do you know
he followed my lead

it must be his way
of calling a truce
so i shook my hand
and he shook his too

and as we shook hands
i tried a few tests
it seemed when i smiled
he looked his best

so now when i greet him
i look happy, not sad
and while he's no beauty
he isn't half bad

-- don