The Man In The Mirror poem that many have read was originally titled The Guy In The Glass and the word pelf (spelled correctly) is an informal word for money or wealth etc.

The Guy In The Glass

by Dale Wimbrow, © 1934

When you get what you want in your struggle for pelf,

And the world makes you King for a day,

Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,

And see what that guy has to say.

For it isn't your Father, or Mother, or Wife,

Who judgment upon you must pass.

The feller whose verdict counts most in your life

Is the guy staring back from the glass.