In the mirror I see……me

I see broken glass, a checkered past,

Seeking to rise above the stereotypes, not giving in to the hype..

Of this world that tells me I’m just a statistic

Tells me to stop reaching higher, cause that’s not realistic

I see a bottle in my hands, troubles in my mind as countless as sand

In the mirror there is my life seen through my eyes,

No more hope, only pain but tryin to realize….

how it’s possible to get through a journey without the end being me up on a gurney.

Society looks at me not surprised by my predicament

Because it’s only a matter of time before my end comes or off to prison I’m sent.

The mirror tells no lies, no matter what deceit I speak

I look in it and my fantasy dies,

Because the reality is there, only dare and stare to see the truth

Of a man who struggled through adolescence and almost lost it in his youth

That’s who I was, no denying what is real

But I’m looking in a rearview mirror, now I’m healed

The man I see is gone, no more in existence, because I found God through persistence

To strive to be more than an average black man

I struggled on my knees before but He lifts me so I can stand

The mirror reflects my past which tried me in the fire

I can look and know now that with God, he lifts me higher

He comforts me, keeps me, no matter what occurs

I’m changed not because I altered my past, but because I took my past to the altar.