old man's face

The other

He invented a face for himself.
                                                 Behind it,
he lived, died, and was resurrected
many times.
                    Today his face
has the wrinkles of that face.
His wrinkles have no face.

--Octavio Paz/Eliot Weinberger

Selected Poems: Octavio Paz, Eliot Weinberger, 1984