The Man In The Mirror

The Man In The Mirror

When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you King for a day
Then go to the mirror and look at yourself
And see what the Man has to say

For it isn’t a man’s father, mother or wife
Whose judgement upon him must pass
The fellow whose verdict counts most in his life
Is the Man staring back from the glass

He’s the fellow to please, never mind all the rest
For he’s with you clear to the end
And you’ve passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the man in the glass is your friend

You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get 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.

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The story behind this is about two men on death row in California, just to be executed. After the executions, the prison guards were cleaning the cell that both prisoners has shared the night before – their last night on earth. To the guards’ amazement, they found this poem on the cell wall.