Anything but Age

You offered a finger
When I reached for your hand
You lived like a boy
But you dressed like a man
And as your beard grew longer
And wrinkles waged war on your face
You said, "I can't give you anything but age"

And I picked off the polish
That covered my nails
As I harkened your rues
And conquistory tales
But your mumbled contrition's
Become just a song you replay
Like saying "I can't give you anything but age"

And you proved you were different
By hanging around
With the girls with the faces
And the hair and the frowns
And as you lay there beside her
And try to remember her name
You whisper, "I can't give you anything but age"

And you fed me clichés
Which I swallowed intact
But I still can't decide
If you thought they were fact
And as I walk from the room
Where I thought I had turned a new page
You don't say anything at all
But what you told me all along
"You know that I can't give you anything but age"