Self-Portrait

I painted a self-portrait

And showed it to my friends

But their response was puzzling

They tried not to offend

But when they asked the subject’s name

I said, “Of course--it’s me!”

“Is it an abstract of yourself?”

“Or how you wish to be?”

At first I did not understand

Then looked inside the mirror

My eyes had bags, my hair a mess

And teeth lacked sparkle clear

The dirt and grime had clogged my pores

Till blemishes had reared

I must have drawn the image

As I hoped that I appeared

I went back to the drawing board

But first I washed my face

I brush my teeth and combed my hair

And beauty slept for days

So now each time I face the mirror

I see me as I am

In which I found more beauty

Than the farce that I began

Whenever we deny the truth

Of what we are inside

The self-image that we create

Turns abstract in our pride

To achieve inner beauty

Ye must see the self thou art

Then cultivate the soul in love

On canvas of the heart