My Soul, In the Raw

I asked around to my friends

to see what I was like

and they gave me such sweet things:

compassionate, accepting, organized, artsy.

Excitable, comfortable, responsible, friendly.

So then I had to stipulate.

I asked them to give me

the bad things as well,

the ones they might not want to share.

But because they’re my friends,

I still got cute things:

stubborn, impatient, too opinionated.

Your prompt was clever,

incorporating the times;

it certainly caught my eye.

But more and more it’s made me think

on the walls I put up

and for whom I can let them down.

Who am I?

you unfairly asked,

without all my filters and walls.

I suppose you could say

that my filters produce

different me’s with their own pits and falls.

Yet I don’t think at all

that that makes me fake

or that one ‘me’ is more real than the other.

My filters are like checks

to help keep the peace,

separate, but always together.

I’m very specific,

you’ll probably learn,

and I certainly know what I like.

I do things just once,

but I do them the best

so I don’t have to do them twice.

I write a lot now,

and I draw just as much,

and I still try to make time for reading.

Fantasies are my favorite,

but sometimes, unfortunately,

my textbooks are rather impeding.

I lose myself easily

in multiple worlds

both real and fiction the same.

When talking to friends

and absorbing new things

my passion burns brighter than flame.

I try to stay open

to all new ideas,

and especially new ways of thought.

We may disagree,

but if you grant me the same,

I promise I will hear you out.

I know I’m not perfect,

and I’ve got things to change,

and I work each and every day

to love all things more,

to procrastinate less,

and to keep my temper at bay.

I’ve taught myself love,

for mind, body, and soul,      

and now it’s become my crusade.

Because I have this idea,

that if everyone loved,

there wouldn’t be quite so much hate.

I want to make the world better,

not just myself

or only the people I know.

I want to make a difference

in a positive way;

that might just be my main goal.

So with all different filters,

I guess this is me,

imperfections and walls.

And if just being me

can help pay for college

then this is my soul in the raw.