The morning I woke I up,

And saw my worth,

Looking in the mirror,

Middle-aged & baggy-eyed,

Staring back at the shaggy man,

Reflection of sand and time,

In the mirror staring back,

The lad of nine I used to know,

In the mirror staring back,

The young man humping sandy dunes,

In the mirror staring back,

A divorcee and failure,

In the mirror staring back,

A wrecked man piecing his Humpy together again,

In the mirror staring back,

Me the man that broke barriers,

Looking at myself now,

Those miraculous years of youth,

The lives I’ve helped,

Mouths I’ve fed,

Children’s hands I’ve held in love and protectiveness,

The worth in me,

Deeper than my ugly personality,

Deeper than the why other’s dislike me so,

A man with a good heart,

In a world that hates him,

Mentally ill and cast aside,

To what good does it do to reflect on this,

When there is so much more good to do,

In a world full of hurt,

Setting aside the hurt I see in the mirror staring back at me,

Setting my foot forward,

Whether I am ugly or good looking,

Matters not to this world,

Matters not to me,

For what good does my vanity do for the others around me,

Casting off the visage of toxic behavior,

To cast instead the light of our God almighty,

To strive for unity,

In a world full of self loathing.