Movie Stars Poem by David McLansky

When I see my heroes of screen and stage
Wrinkled, fat, and stooped with age;
When I see their beauty start to fade,
I share with them their shock and rage;
Their ripe perfection was but a moment;
The beauty that was beyond comment
Preserved now in a picture frame
Which does immortalize their fame;
And yet when by a gushing fan pursued,
When consenting to be interviewed;
You see the glimmer in their eye
Still reveling in their youthful pride;
Self-marveling at their deft insistence;
Having overcome such deaf resistance;
The tears run down their sagging cheeks,
Their voice breaks up in garbled speech;
They wonder at their luck and fate
And forget they're old and out of date;
Then I who lacked such fierce ambition,
Who now share with them their aged condition;
Agree with them we all were blessed
That they pursued that first screen test.