The Man in the Glass

With all the scandal that permeates the news, I sometimes wonder what has become of our nation's ethics. In a recent Dear Abby column, I ran across the poem, The Man in the Glass. The author may be unknown, but my father, the most honorable man I've ever known, used to say something similar. He always told us to live each day so that we'd be proud of the person we faced in the mirror each morning. Still good advice.

The Man in the Glass
(author unknown)

When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day,
Just go to a mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say.

For it isn't your father or mother or wife
Whose judgement upon you must pass,
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.

Some people might think you're a straight-shootin' chum
And call you 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.

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 test
If the guy in the glass is your friend.

You may 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.