Mirror, Mirror, Don’t Be a Damn Fool (Revisionist Shakespeare – Sonnet 3 for Gen X)

Look in the glass, and tell the face you see
The time of day — before it’s had its way.
Now is the time to give yourself to me,
Or else you’re gonna watch your best years fray.

For where is all that fire your face once wore?
Where’s all that heat, that swagger, that damn glow?
It’s fading, plain and simple, little by little more,
As time keeps clocking you, whether you care or no.

Now, if you’ve got a kid, then go on, prove
That your own youth can still be passed along.
Make another version — one that might outlive
The old you, before the world has moved on.

But if you don’t, then face it: you’ll just be
A one-man show where time murders the beauty.