Graying Telephone Poll

When I first wake up each day I still feel the same
Rolling out of bed with focus, purpose, and energy
 
Not until I face the mirror am I so painfully reminded
I'm not thirty-five anymore ...
 
The age I am and will always be in my mind's eye
What I now lament as the peak, the height of my summer
 
As I walk down the street, I still check out the pretty girls
The twenty-somethings that used to smile back and respond
 
Most of them do not see me, that is when they're not texting
Those that do give me a polite smile borne out of respect
 
It's not that I am invisible, no I am still here
Just a graying telephone pole that hides in plain sight
 
Like the real ones that no one notices until they are hit or fall
Or a man in fluorescent has climbed to work on the wires
 
Sometimes I mope and cry it's not fair, why me
When did my youth, my prince charmingness wither
 
The sad thing is my wife says I'm handsome and I believe her
Though when I see recent photos I do have my doubt
 
On really bad days I long to be young again, reaminated
But then I regain my humility and my wisdom
 
The days of youth have come and gone, never to return
I siezed them forgng a career, a reputation, a life
 
I have earned these scars, wrinkles, and gray hairs
becoming the man I am today, the foundation of what's yet to be
 
When I come to this place called acceptance and contentment
I recall that never before did I ever feel this way
 
Those early years were spent striving, fending off doubt
Pursuing a busy life full of emptiness
 
It is then that I sigh and smile and savor peacefulness
No longer afraid of what the camera or the mirror shows