The Guy in the Glass
The Guy In The Glass
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 guy has to say.
For it isn't your Father or Mother or Wife,
Who judgement upon you must pass.
The feller whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the guy staring back from the glass.
He's the feller to please, never mind all the rest,
For he's with you clear up to the end,
And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the guy 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 pathway of years,
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you've cheated the guy in the glass.
Dale Wimbrow
********************
"The Guy In The Glass" poem has been the subject of much confusion and some distortion, and is rarely properly attributed.
This poem was in fact written in 1934 by American writer Peter 'Dale' Wimbrow (1895-1954), and was first published in The American Magazine in May that year.
Wimbrow submitted the poem in response to the magazine's request for its readers to submit answers to an 18 year-old man's question as to , "... why an ambitious young man should be honest ...".
Thereafter the published poem seemingly went 'wild', so to speak, as great literary works sometimes do.
Subsequent distorted versions commonly change the title to "The Man In the Glass", or "The Man In The Mirror", and many versions alter the word "pelf" in the first line to "self" believing the word "pelf" to be a misprint.
Pelf in fact means money or wealth, usually ill-gotten, derived from Old French pelfe and pelfre, meaning reward gained from plunder or contest or achievements, probably related to the same roots as the word pilfer.
If you refer to the Guy In The Glass poem, please use the correct words, and attribute it properly, to Dale Wimbrow, 1934. This is the correct version. It's about honesty of course, and more than this, the poem provides a philosophy for living a life of integrity and value.
More information and history about The Guy In The Glass poem is available at www.theguyintheglass.com.
Labels: Talkshop
posted by Arena Green at 8:06 pm
2 Comments:
I read the poem but felt nostalgic, for, most people are narcissistic. At such, when they look in the mirror, they saw an illussory self, someone they belief is themselves, but aren't. These are the people who did not toil, did not sweat, and believed that they deserved more than what they had - the rights and privileges - that were pronounced to them by a kleptocratic system.
Yeah, that sort of realisation is what makes us sad sometimes, isn't it Mave?
People who benefit most from the system will do their utmost to maintain the status quo, the easiest way by playing up the insecurities of the masses as a means to drown the voice of decency.
Such people would not care to spill some blood as a means to justify their desired ends.
As the saying goes, we don't want to be caught in the middle of gunfire and ended up being collateral damage. But do we really have a choice?
Post a Comment
<< Home