Self Worth?

A poem written to make people feel better about themselves and do something for the world

I used to look in the mirror each day
And there spy the flaws, the dismay
Shining clearly through bloodshot eyes
The pain and suffering through my disguise

I saw but a worthless being
In the vast expanse of time
No point in resisting or fleeing
This life and its sorrows were mine

No worth, no beauty, no confidence
To me, back then, these all made sense
Failure was lack of perfection
Through tears, I longed for affection

I scowled at my staring face
At the world shrouded in gloom
With ire, I held the mirror’s gaze
Then turned to leave the room

As I stepped toward the end
Of a narrow street bend
I heard a soft coughing sound
Then, a tumbling crash on the ground

In panic I ran to the ally
From whence the noise had come
And a child lying there sprawled did I see
And my heart pulsed, a rhythmic drum

Her golden locks fell over bruised face
Her white gown creating an image of grace
Her thin legs rested crookedly
On the cold cement of that dark ally

Shortly I paused in frozen confusion
Then decidedly stooped and grasped
The cold body of that tiny one
And her tiny fingers my shirt did clasp

I shrugged away a shiver of woe
Where to turn I didn’t know…
Then, my mind became clear
As my uncertainty disappeared

This child needed attention
As surely as day needed sun
And with this, sudden comprehension
Of the whole world in my mind begun

I saved that child’s being
And without me, her world would be dark
How can one go through life without seeing
Their chance to make their mark
 

Now, I look in the mirror each day
And smile and laugh at the former dismay
Eyes too large? Or my eyes?
My face, my hair, my rise!

I, not perfect, but me
I, who saved the withering life
Of a child, brilliant and free
If only I could thus end all strife

But wait, if everyone saw
This odd unwritten law
Of the spreading of life and love
This thing the world could be proud of

So give a penny to a cause
For every penny counts
And if every person for love did pause
There’d be no agony to think about

Take a chance, save a life
For peace and love to be rife
No more sadness, no more strife
No more reason to take up the knife

You are crucial
Even if you can’t see
You can stop the earth’s slow fall
You and I hold the key

Reviews

[Wildecat]

I absolutely loved this poem, super messages all the way through, I particularly loved the lines. How can one go through life with out seeing their chance to make their mark. Brilliant.