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I can't conceive I'm this age, I thought I'd be dead.
The days zipped away so fast I can't stand it,
Robbed of my years by an evil time bandit.
I never imagined my youth would be past,
As quickly as this, it flew by all too fast.
One day a young boy, then a teen, then a man
Who once wanted girls, now it's just raisin bran.
The twelfth of the month means a new decade for me,
So long to the sixties, howdy-do seventy.
Then I started to doze while I sat in my chair
When a foreboding shadow came suddenly near.
I opened my eyes and was startled to see
A bearded old gentleman looking at me.
He was dressed in a robe and carried a scythe,
I had never seen such a sight in my life.
A large hourglass he held filled with white sand
I realized then Father Time was at hand.
With a stare and a gesture he had me arise
And go to my mirror to behold a surprise.
So I looked in the mirror and what did I see?
An old man with gray hair looking right back at me.
The bags Ôneath my eyes were as dark as tar pitch,
The wattle and folds made me look like a witch.
My wrinkles, so many! My nose, how it grew!
My eyes were like cherries, my lips were quite blue.
The receding hairline and face that is bloated,
Looked every bit as bad as the belly I toted.
To fight back the aging process, what can I do?
A facelift and a tummy tuck might help, it's true.
Botox and peeling has been tried by a few,
Along with stretching, stapling and using some glue.
There are some folks who apply avocado creams
And there are others who get zapped with laser beams.
You could spend a fortune, do all that you can do
But eventually Father Time gets the better of you.
As I turned from my mirror I looked back to see
If that old geezer Time was still standing with me.
He was there all right, he never wandered away,
It was then that I knew he was with me to stay.
And I knew at that point I had nothing to dread,
I'm alive and I'm healthy, what more can be said?
Am I still around? Oh yes, that's affirmative,
And that's much preferred to the other alternative.
So I turned and gazed into the old looking glass
I swore to be happy, and stop being an ass.
I'll accept who I am and forget who I'm not,
I'll embrace every age and I'll take my best shot.
To do what I can and to appreciate life
To love all my family especially my wife.
No more self-pity, and I'll stop feeling so blue
As I wish happy birthday to me and to all of you too!
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JWR contributor Greg Crosby, former creative head for Walt Disney publications, has written thousands of comics, hundreds of children's books, dozens of essays, and a letter to his congressman. He's been a JWR contributor since 1999.