WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SMOOTH YOUNG FACE...?

                                                                            XCIX

What happened to the smooth young face
That I used to see?
An older well-worn countenance
Now gazes back at me.

What happened to those youthful
Sparkling bright young eyes?
They're now fine-webbed with sunray lines -
Perhaps they are more wise.

Where is the alabaster brow
Untrammelled - free from care?
The marble is much older now
With cracks showing here and there.

What happened to the dimples
That dented in each cheek?
Where is the glossy nut brown hair
Shinning, thick and sleek?

I never will see them again
But it might help a bit
If I moved my mirror as far from the light
As the size of the room will permit.

June 1988

To me