Man In The Mirror: Tribute

Copyright © Stephanie Reginelli

Michael

Colorful wisps of clouds
swarm the sky above me,
they threaten the limits of the
unlimited space beyond us
and a shifting wind pulls curls
away from my face.

Beside me in a world
so far from my own
an African child calls
for help in the unlightened night
and I turn my face away
like so many in my place.

And still even closer
to my heart lies a child
on a bench crying for
the humiliation of promises
too long forgotten and a childhood
lost before it has even begun.

Suddenly my tears form
melodies on my hands and
its words form symphonies in my mind
until my body shouts with
manifestations of peace and love
for the human race.

Begging them to open
their eyes for a bit.

To see the world that awaits
them if only they'd opened
their hearts and secure it deep inside.

But for a moment they are
as blind as I am.

For a moment,
I can't see where black begins
or where white ends.

For a moment, notes erase
themselves on my songs.

My lyrics are buried
wherever good intentions
never flourished go.

In the mirror I can't
recognize what I've begun.

And the world outside is lost in
the flurries of our days until
my words cant reach
their ears anymore.

All they see is a face.

A face scarred
by my foolishness and thiers.

And then I wake up.

Life begins anew,
they hear me again
and I've united our races
together as one,
but I'm not really awake.

I'm looking down on the
regretful faces of those who humiliated
me and those who never denied me.

It is then that I realize I'm gone.

Gone between the clouds
that swarmed the sky above me.

Only this time they finally learned to hear.

That's a poem written by me in honor of the king of Pop, from his point of view. When I brought my face up to check the news, the headline shocked me to a stop. "Michael Jackson Dies." In my mind, images of my childhood came before my eyes. Vibrant and clear. With a song playing in the background. It was his song. His songs. He, as many other artists played roles in my childhood and my taste in music. And then I realized. He has to be joking. He's just joking with the media. But he wasn't. He was long gone by the time my tears confirmed that part of my childhood died.

It was the unexpected day of a legend's death. He had plans still. I dreamed of meeting him. But I suppose that's all gone now. What remains are his deeds, his legacy, the mystery, and his music. The greatest impact he left on this earth. He fought for great causes, wrote great songs to open our eyes. For a moment, we heard them. And then we got lost in his changes. Irrelevant to his words.

How mediocre and pathetic we truly can be. Appearances overtook our opinions. We judged on a face. And not on his voice. The most precious thing he shared with us. He united races. And he unites them again at the time of his death.

I cried for him. I cry again. And I cry when I think of all of us who had forgotten what it's like to be alone and judged simply on your exterior. I vow to somehow "heal the world" in my lifetime. I vow to you, Michael, that I will never ever judge upon appearances and I will never "spend my life being a color."

I drew this while listening to his great music. I drew this while thinking how frail life is and how we can't lie around the house all day, complain about how horrible the world is and do nothing about it.

So, why don't you, "stand up and look at the Man In The Mirror."

Man in the Mirror: [link]

Heal The World: [link]

You are Not Alone: [link]

We are the World: [link]

Black or White: [link]

Earth Song: [link]

Listen to Lyrics , Let it Sink In.

June 25, 2009: The Day Pop Lost its King.

Rest in Peace Michael. 1958-2009