The Promise

By Joseph McGowan

When I was young I
Remember looking into the mirror
Trying to envision the man I someday would be.
And I thought I knew it all,
But how wrong I was I would soon see.
For somewhere along the road of life
I took a wrong turn,

And before I could get back on track 10 years I had burned.
When I was a young man I remember looking
Into the mirror at what I had become
And the feeling of disgrace
From what the years of partying had done,
And at the lines it had left on my face.
I felt lonely though I had many friends.
But sometimes people are not really happy;
They just pretend,

For I was unfulfilled with the life I was leading.
I felt like my soul was cut and I couldn’t stop the bleeding,
But I felt true in my heart at what I was needing.

I got down on my knees
And I asked God for a wife and a son
And I promised him that a good man I’d become.
And I remember the day for tears I wept
And as for the promise, that’s one I kept,
For I said to myself, “This is it,” and that’s a fact.
And that’s the day I quit, and I’ve never looked back.
And I grew stronger as each day would pass,
Patiently, for anything worth living for rarely happens fast.
But as I stand here before you today
In the presence of my son and wife I can’t help thinking back
to the promise that changed my life.

Copyright© 2006