The Man In The Mirror
When you get all you want and you struggle for pelf,
and the world makes you king for a day,
then go to the mirror and look at yourself
and see what that man has to say.
For it isn’t your mother, your father or wife
whose judgment upon you must pass,
but the man, whose verdict counts most in your life
is the one staring back from the glass.
He’s the fellow to please,
never mind all the rest.
For he’s with you right to the end,
and you’ve passed your most difficult test
if the man in the glass is your friend.
You may be like Jack Horner and “chisel” a plum,
And think you’re a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum
If you can’t look him straight in the eye.
You can fool the whole world,
down the highway of years,
and take pats on the back as you pass.
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
if you’ve cheated the man in the glass.
3 comments
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June 15, 2010 at 1:12 pm
slpmartin
Such a very nice message in the poem…but I was thinking about what Neilson said in one of this songs “you see what you want to see…”…enjoyed your poem made me think a bit about what folks really see when they look in the mirror.
@slpmartin – Thanks for visiting and leaving your comment. I like your blog.
June 28, 2010 at 2:46 am
ruhee advani
beautiful poem, except there’s one thing I didn’t really agree with – ‘For it isn’t your mother, your father or wife
whose judgment upon you must pass,
but the man, whose verdict counts most in your life
is the one staring back from the glass.’
its a beautiful thought, except isn’t judgment in itself a stupid thing? is it necessary for us to judge ourselves? cant we love ourselves instead?
id love it if you’d check out my blog and tell me what you think!
good stuff! keep it coming 🙂
@ruhee – Thanks for visiting and leaving your comment. Your blog is good. Keep writing.
May 15, 2015 at 11:43 am
Troy
Judgement is necessary as its a benchmark to measure progress 🙂 You must love yourself, yes. But how can you love yourself if you can’t look at yourself in the mirror?
Troy – Thanks for visiting and for your comment!