The Body I Look Out Of (poem)

THE BODY I LOOK OUT OF

the body I look out of is
not the body you look into

what I see through two holes
in my skull has not changed
much over the decades
but what you see in the
reverse angle is no longer

the young folksinger on stage
curly hair red beard
singing Woody Guthrie
or the graduate instructor
turning students on to Norman Brown
or the regular at his bar stool
not quite boorish as he talks
about his latest play in rehearsal
or the obsessive lover who makes
you wonder if sex may be enough
or the adventurous cook proud of
his paella and his scrapple
or the restless traveler in
a red bug named Ruby
camping coast to coast

what you see in the
reverse angle is an
old man growing older

so how can you possibly
know it's a young man
looking back at you?

--Charles Deemer