5.My Dad's Face
Tom meltzer
When i look in the mirror i see my dad's face
Where my face used to be
Then i realize that he was about my age
When he started his own family
Then my radicalism, all my college marxism
Starts drifting on out to deep sea
When i look in the mirror and i see my dad's face
Where my face used to be
When i was a kid i used to look at my dad
And i'd say, 'this is who i am not.'
He used bryl-creem, i used hair spray
He was fat, i was skinny
He drank beer, i smoked pot
But now my feet are disappearing beneath an ocean of beer
And not so mysteriously
When i look at my face i see in its place
My dad's physiognomy
I used to look at my friends, they looked fifty years older
Some nights when i'd get too stoned
That's when i believed time was a visible line
With its end and beginning both shown
Now i know that's not true
But i've still got an idea pretty much of what i can expect
When i look in the mirror and i see my dad's mug
Sitting there right on top of my neck
Well, my dad had it rough, he couldn't keep his true love
He never reached his sought-after perfection
So as i headed down my own life's road
I headed straight in the other direction
Now, when i turn around, he's not so far away
And we're on the same road, i can see
When i look in the mirror and i see my dad's face
Where my face used to be
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