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The Old Man In the Mirror

You think it a lie, seeing that
old man in the mirror: some
imposter taking your name,
living in your house, calling
out to your wife as though
he had married her 40 years 
ago and not you... what can
the old fellow want of you,
you wonder, and would ask,
but you fear his laughter....

So you never speak with him
and he runs the place just
as he sees fit: sleeping late,
eating early, taking a nap
and going for brief walks
when you'd prefer a jog.

He also doesn't care much
for taking those long drives
you love so much--too, too
far away from comfy home.
A thousand carefree miles
is but a  dream to you,
while he shudders like it's
climbing Mount Everest!

Worst of all, he is less
patient with the myriad
fools of the world-- so
he'll rant and rave
when clerks misbehave.
And his politics! Right
and right he feels,
caring naught for the
downtrodden masses.
Yet he is kinder than 
you ever were, more 
thoughtful of others,
more giving, less taking.
He loves his friends and 
doesn't seduce women
only to leave them empty.

Best of all, the old man
loves God-- he won't
see belief as folly,
for he has  learned 
the real illusion is
mortality, so he knows
death is a door, not
an impregnable wall.

You could learn much 
from the old man
you share a life with,
but you won't, for
you are young--
what are God and
death and endless
soul to you...?

Copyright © | Year Posted 2017




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Date: 5/30/2023 1:14:00 PM
LJ, an awesome poem, wonderfully penned, and congratulations on your win in the contest, well done !
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L. J. Carber
Date: 6/2/2023 3:03:00 PM
Thanks, Connie, much appreciated!
Date: 5/29/2023 6:22:00 PM
Congrats placing 4th in my contest! Humorous, elegant, and reflective (literally!). Excellent work, sorry took so long to judge.
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L. J. Carber
Date: 6/2/2023 3:04:00 PM
Thank you for the honor, Matt-- something good it seems can come out of getting old!
Date: 3/5/2022 4:28:00 AM
Your winner in Brian's contest was creative and expressive. Old age comes to us all if we are blessed to live long enough and it seems you have done well handling it. Way to go. Congrats. Sara
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L. J. Carber
Date: 3/5/2022 12:17:00 PM
Thank you Sara!
Date: 2/16/2022 9:17:00 AM
This is very profound, clever and above all a great read. It's also made me reflect right now. Cheers - Gary
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L. J. Carber
Date: 2/16/2022 2:38:00 PM
Thanks Gary--gotta be some reason God invented old age!
Date: 2/16/2022 12:34:00 AM
Fool-hardy be the young, wisdom be a fleeting sum, LJ, nicely penned! My compliments on your winning entry my friend, Aloha~William, Cheers!
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L. J. Carber
Date: 2/16/2022 2:38:00 PM
Thank you, William--{and I am a bit envious, living in Hawaii has got to beat Jersey!}
Date: 12/11/2020 1:29:00 PM
Awesome ~ death is indeed "a door and not a wall"
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Date: 1/5/2020 11:15:00 PM
Hi L.J., Wonderful poem of irony, wisdom and an elegant peek into adding more candles to our cakes. Congratulations!
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L. J. Carber
Date: 1/6/2020 8:58:00 AM
Thanks Sam-- I just wish we didn't have to get knocked about in life to acquire that wisdom, but then if life were easy, we wouldn't value it so....
Date: 1/5/2020 12:12:00 AM
Loved reading this, LJ. By coincidence, I have an old man in my mirror, too. Who let him in the house? Why doesn't he ever sleep through the night or throw away his old newspaper clippings? A fav for me. Cheers ~ John
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L. J. Carber
Date: 1/6/2020 9:03:00 AM
Tell me about it, John! Nobody believes me when I tell them I'm only 24--not feel like 24 but literally am still 24 years old-- probably because I almost drowned at the age [ and discovered--much to the surprise of my former agnostic self-- I have a soul that is timeless ]
Date: 1/4/2020 7:25:00 PM
An amazing top win my friend!;( congratulations!;)
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L. J. Carber
Date: 1/6/2020 9:07:00 AM
Thank you, Brenda, y vaya con Dios siempre, mi amiga....

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