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The Man in the Mirror and Me

I could not/ would not say that the man in the glass that I see
He could not/ would not/ actually/ factually/ finally be me
Though I wish/ I hope/ I someday may truly be he
A much younger man/ thinner man/ a can do more man

Stronger than/ lasting longer than/ with much more than

Who I am/ who with pain in his back/ and a wrinkled face
Who with grayer hair/ who with less down there and a slower pace
He can run faster/ risk a disaster/ and end up a winner in the human race
Who doesn't worry about the clock ticking/ or the end quickening
He is at the beginning/ striving for winning/ and at his ending

Some day he could be/ some day he may be/ some day he might see
Some one older yet dearer/ some one wanting/ to look in my mirror
He will then/ like me/ see what he wishes and hopes to be
And time is all that separates/ the man in the mirror from me
But today he has youth and vitality/ while I have all of my memories

And today/ I could not and I would not/ trade my memories for his
possibilities/ for all his uncertainties/ and all of his destiny
And today I smile and hold my wife in bed/ for she is the best thought in my head
she is the passion by which I am led/ and the beauty/ my rose that is red
the joy and happiness in each/ and every day that lies ahead