It’s known there are
Three types of Self
There’s the You that others see
There’s how You really
Are and how
You view Yourself to be
But as for me
I’ll add a fourth
Which means the most to me
It’s not what’s seen
It’s more about
The Self I want me to be
I don’t want to be
Some grouchy fart
Who spends his days alone
Instead I hope
To be the one
With a warm and loving home
A home where folks
Will come and go
Some will leave and others stay
Come through my door
Without a knock
At most any time of day
A place my kids
Will know as “home”
However far away they go
They’ll recall this place
With fond memories
Of Parents who loved them so
When the bad in life
Has got them down
Or they’ve got a troubled heart
The memories
Will serve them well
And make the dark clouds part
To look and see
The love we shared
Long after Im gone
To recall the laughs
All of the hugs
And a family that was strong
There’s nothing else
I can think of
More precious than their smile
When Im long gone
I pray they will
Think of me once in a while
Each time they laugh
Or feel love’s warmth
Coming from their inner space
I hope they will
Remember Dad
With a big smile on their face
I aspire to be
A simple man
Who’s a blessing not a curse
I hope to leave
My heart behind
Forever saved in verse
Someone who you
May never know
Save the words I leave behind
I hope they touch
Some part of you
And span through years of time
I pray the words
That I write down
For the entire World to see
Will help someone
I may never know
As much as they’ve helped me
I don’t wish to be
A person who
Only lives for material gain
I’d rather live
For the memories
Each passing day will bring
The material things
Will fade away
As soon as we cease to be
The only things
We can take with us
Are our own life’s memories
They make up who
And what we are
As they bond to our soul
They’re the only things
We get to take
When from this life we go
My treasures are
The things in life
I experience along the way
So I try my best
To make them good
As I live my life each day
I don’t want to be
Someone who
Lives with a heart of hate
Those are not the thoughts
I wish to take
I won’t let that be my fate
I wish to be
Someone who
You’ll think of as a friend
Someone you will
Fondly recall
Long after my days end
Someone who
When folks gather ‘round
And tell their stories about me
It’ll be with warmth
And a laugh or two
As they tell fond memories
And as they tell
Of things I did
I hope it always comes to light
Of words I shared
That inspired them
To love instead of fight
‘Cause it’s not for me
It’s for my Friends
For my Kids and for my Wife
My whole Family
I hope it’s clear
That’s why I lived my life
There’s so many people
In this World
That live to take from you
They’ll take everything
You have to give
Then disappear from view
When you are down
When your heart cries out
For a friend you look around
The times when you
Need someone to care
They are nowhere to be found
Then the loneliness
Fills you inside
From all over the place
And you feel complete
Aloneness as
The tears roll down your face
That’s when I hope
You’ll see me standing
In the corners of your mind
To know that you
Are not alone
You are in this heart of mine
When friends I know
Are feeling low
And there seems no one to care
I hope they look
Into their own mind
To see me standing there
Just a thought or two
Of something shared
To bring comfort to their soul
Some memory they
Will take with them
As through their lives they go
And every time
They’re feeling good
I hope I’ve played a part
I pray they’ll smile
Then think of me
As laughter fills their heart
I wish to live
For love of life
And to help others to see
The joys each day
This is The Self
That I Want Me To Be