Thine Old Self

So practiced in the art of self-deception
that mirrors feel no further need to lie.
The mind performs the trick, then takes exception
when shown a photo selfie that gets by
the brain's embedded filter. I look… beaten.
When did I get so derelict, so frail?
Why can't my vision sugarcoat and sweeten
this captured graven image? Does it fail
because it somehow knows the real story,
or does the mirror know some magic trick,
some unsuspected method to say sorry,
you cannot see this, lays it on so thick
you're shocked when forced to see the real you.
Turns out it's hardest to thine self be true.

Author notes: image generated by author prompt to GPT