Mirror Image

I looked in the mirror one day to see,
My mother looking back at me.
At first I stared in blank dismay
Not expecting to age that way.

The wrinkles, the sag, the gray hair or two!
I panicked not knowing what I should do.
What would my friends and neighbors say
When they saw me looking this way?!!

I glanced back at her and saw her grin
So amused by the "fix" that I was in.
"You see your age, I see your youth.
They are one and the same. Both are the truth.

You are my baby, my daughter, my friend.
In you I see beauty that will never end."
Her voice was so gentle, her wisdom so sure
I found I was honored to look just like her.

Then I, still shaken by surprise,
Said to the image with the gracious eyes,
"I may be a younger version, that's true,
But not as lovely, sweet mother, as you."
©Martha J. Garren
November 17, 2000