The Man in the Mirror
Copyright ©1996 by Richard J. Sereday Jr.
All rights reserved
Who is this
man in the mirror?
This man I have shaved
so many mornings.
I have seen his face so many times,
but I never really got to know him.
I thought I knew him
once upon a time,
but I was evidently mistaken,
or maybe I did know him
as he once was.
A loving caring person
who would have done
anything in the world
for his loved ones.
What happened to him?
Where did he go?
I thought long and hard
upon this puzzle.
What caused him to
change so drastically?
Could it have been
the loss of his wife's love
that brought on these changes,
or did his wife's love die
because of his changes?
Maybe it was a combination of both?
It is a hard question with no easy answers.
What comes first,
the tree or the seed,
the mother or the child,
day or night, love or loving.
Who is qualified to answer
such difficult questions ?
Only the Creator
knows the answers
to all the mysteries of life.
I had been living my life like a fool,
always charging ahead,
never looking back,
leaving everyone in my wake,
unaware of any damage
I may have been doing.
One day I looked deeply
into the mirror
to see what happened
to the man
I once knew so well.
I saw him for what he was.
There were things I saw
that made me feel good
about who he was,
but there were things I saw
that I didn't like at all.
Things that I knew
no one would like,
including those I loved.
Things that come
as results of bitterness,
and of turning sour on life,
over a love lost,
slipping away
right before my very eyes.
How could anyone become
anything less than bitter,
seeing their whole world,
their dreams,
their treasures,
their family,
and the love of their life
slipping away
between their finger tips?
I have faced my demons
and done battle with them.
I won this battle
but the war is never over.
Always on guard do I stand.
I have worked so hard
to find that "him"
that once was.
He is still there
somewhere inside,
and I have reached
out my hand to him.
He has taken my hand
and I am pulling him up
out of the ashes.
I will welcome him
with open arms,
and help him
brush off these ashes.
I know he is a person worthy of love,
and he waits for his chance
to love and be loved once again
