Two Photographs

By John I. Blair

These spitting images of me
In starchy shirt and narrow tie
Were shot an afternoon in 1963
When I was 22.

In one I'm grinning like a goon,
All eyes and teeth and wavy hair;
The other, just a moment either side,
I'm pouty, downcast, hurt.

If asked which face is true,
The feckless kid deriding care
Or gloomy guy with heavy heart,
I out myself, admitting "Both."

(c)2006 John I. Blair