The Mirror

by Bob Steel

I caught my image unaware,
The sagging flesh, and thinning hair,
Reflected in a silvered glass,
That I was just about to pass,
Was stunned by the discrepancy
Of what I saw, and what felt me.
What time had etched upon my skin,
Denied the youth I felt within.
An older man stared out at me,
and I seemed shocked as much as he
We nodded both and turned away,
Sure to meet another day.

Judge's Comments - Dawn Gorman

Many of us can identify with the discrepancy described in this poem, and its easy rhythm and rhyme makes it highly accessible, but what I liked in particular was the clever wit of the penultimate couplet, with its neat suggestion that not only the man, but his image, too, is surprised by the march of time ("An older man stared out at me,/ and I seemed shocked as much as he.").