Core (a poem)

i am the words i speak
i’m the things i do
i’m not how i look
or the things i accrue

you try to define me
with the simplest of words
but i’m far beyond that
though you think it absurd

i am not what you say
no matter what you believe
i am so much more
than the stories you weave

i’m the person inside
the intangible soul
much more than you see
or with arms can hold

to be known as i am
is my truest desire
who i am at my core
as i walk through the fire

i count down the days
in this life i’ve been given
one day i’ll be gone
while you go on living

so i leave behind words
these remnants of me
for my family, my friends,
and those yet to be

~ elr