—
When you look into that mirror on the wall
Will your life have been filled with happiness, love, family, education?
Or will you have blown it all
Following that spherically shaped or round object known as a ball?
Is it fair to you to assume
While sitting all alone in your mental, silent room
That endless amounts of money will be yours
to be tossed and thrown away like a Mardi Gras debloon?
Tossed and thrown to a cheering crowd
As they chant your name and play your favorite musical tune
The crowd will only cheer for so long
What man will you see in the mirror when you get home?
Is it the man who made the winning score
Or the lonely one who incessantly meets you at the door?
The crowd that cheers for you is Oh…So…Fickle
‘Cause, you see, when you make a mistake
(and believe me, you will)
They would just as soon sell you for a dime
Maybe even a nickel.
Will the crowd cheer for an “A”
In English, Geometry, and even a craft
Or will they just sit and watch your failures
and have themselves a good laugh?
For the crowd is mean and vicious, you see
This, I know
The crowd has even turned on me!
The crowd loads up on the bandwagon of success
But you had better not fail
They quickly help you to change your mental address!
The mirror stares at you and asks this question
with no sympathy or compassion
Is the crowd really to blame for your lackluster acclaim
and do you walk away with your head bowed, ashamed?
Or, do you fight in spite of all odds
and fight to produce an acceptable life’s card?
Please remember the crowd is there purely for the purpose of entertainment;
they are not interested in your prior and/or present criminal arraignment!
They see in you what they would like to be;
They do not really care if you majored in metaphysics or P.E.
A scholar they do not expect you to be
Please do not be smitten by the masses cheering and hollering loud;
They are only participants as part of the crowd
You there! Yes, it is you that I seek;
The man watching you in the mirror should be humble and meek
For a boisterous man with no morals and taste
Will always lose and fail to recognize his own face
He falls in with the crowd, talking all loud
and saying nothing while playing the role of the fool
Sadly neglecting the image in the mirror
Subconsciously dismissing school
Please be forewarned God’s cheering is in the coming of the dawn
For the crowd’s cheers are shallow and empty and only appear to be of great magnitude and fun
Can’t you see maybe it is that log (ussiah) stuck in your eye
Causing you to think this is the way things were meant to be
The crowd is like a powerful drug
It first gets you with the roar
Then it slowly seizes your mind by its chants for more, more
You feed off the adrenalin
Receiving an unbelievable high
You pat yourself on the back and
Selfishly embrace the letter “I”
Now drunk with fanfare and pseudo-fame
You start a slow, destructive burn
Sadly thinking you are God’s gift to the fame
Simultaneously kicking God out of the back door
As you embrace the crowd’s roar
and they chant loudly, more, more more!
When the balls stop sailing through the air
The lights have been turned off
and the crowd has gone home
Hopefully, you will know
Jesus Christ has not left you all alone
What will you do when the crowd stops cheering?
Melvin “Chief” Lars 3/29/93 12:30 a.m.
—
—
Photo credit: Getty Images