The Prognosis of a Passionate Man (Part VII) (poem)

By Luke Labern

I've been accused of arrogance
              But that simply proves a lack of distance.
Pride in what one can do is confidence:
              Misplaced pride in what one can't do is arrogance.

And unhatched success is that dream currency --
By definition, I only display my wealth --
I don't pretend to have less or more than I have.

I am exactly who I am:

Strong willed, but emotional --
Loyal -- but dramatic;
Tenacious but riddled with sensible doubt;
A non-believer and a contradiction --
An antidote to an idealistic affliction.
A man, an animal; reasonable yet addictive --
In control, but addicted.
In love with life, but intrigued by death:
Strong, but with easily-exposed soft-spots.
A true friend to few, a cold shoulder to many --
In love with one person, to an unknown extreme --
A man with a plan, but who leaves it unwritten --
A writer and an artist who doubts he is worthy --
A human being who sees things differently. But above it all
              A personality with proficiency.

Diagnosis: terminally ill from birth.
Prognosis: a writer from the cradle to the hearse.