me and myself

I looked into the mirror
And received a dreadful shock
It seemed as if my reflection
had really run amok

On its head was a pair of horns
And behind it waved a tail
Its eyes were glowing bright, bright red
And its countenance was pale.

"Do you believe in God?" it asked,
and naturally I said "Yes",
"You're a fool", it said, "believe in me,
and you will suffer less."

"Oh no," I thought, "it's my other self
I thought I'd locked it away
it should be sleeping quietly
and have no chance to play."

The reflection suddenly grinned,
a hideous sight to see
and with a start I realised
that the creature resembled me.

"You must not drink, you must not smoke,
tell a joke or beat your wife.
In the name of all that's unholy
what can that be for a life?"

My first impulse was to smash the mirror
for the Devil's words had caused me hurt
I used to smoke, I used to swear
and loved to wallow in the dirt.

In all of us there's a second self
That wants to dominate
but through belief in higher things
we can cleanse our mental state.