When you get what you want in your 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 a man’s father, mother or wife,
Whose judgement upon him must pass,
The fellow whose verdict counts most in 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 the final reward will be heartache and tears,
If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.
= Dale Wimbrow, first published in The American Magazine in 1934.
Note: A blog reader sent us this link. Check out a lovely poster of this poem HERE.
When you get what you want in self,
the mirror look to the father
The judgment upon the staring from the glass.
He’s the mind with you to the end.
Dangerous, difficult glass is your world
The path you as you pass,
In the final ward, heart tears you within the glass
For the mirror is the reflection of the father. Thy which within mirrored the universe as delusion. The rest in the mirror is the unrest in the conceal
Reblogged this on Divine Poetry.
LOL there is a similar version of this on the Gym wall, that I go to, Big massive black background with White text
It was published by Dale Wimbrow in 1934.
Where you got that death cell story from I don’t know.
Thanks, Chris, I have changed the title and attribution so that Dale Wimbrow will get his proper credit :)
The first line does not end in the word “self”, but is supposed to be “pelf” It actually is a word. It basically means “ill gotten gains!”
Thank you, Ted, I checked and you are correct. I have changed the word accordingly :)
Bless u Irving…especially when ppl r quite rude!
I would like to purchase a poem to frame of the guy looking back in the mirror. Do you know where I can get a copy
Thank you
HI Sherry:
Go to this link and you can order the poster of the poem:
http://www.posterama.co/collections/frontpage/products/inspirational-poems-the-man-in-the-glass-poster-2-dale-wimbrow
Reblogged this on Broken Writer.