After Photo

On my birthday – the damned things just keep coming – this seemed appropriate.

People my age
now recognize me as
people their age,
a new disappointment 
revealing flaws
deeper than wrinkles.
 

Your age is in your mind
has been my mantra,
a lie that denies,
like money and desire.
 

I don’t want to be twenty
again, I just don’t want to be
that after photo of your
favorite star, so old
it makes you gasp.