The Leader
Literary

[POETRY] The Love of Self

ANNA SMITH

Special to The Leader

The Love of Self

the love of self,

plainly stated,

is an elusive

and, admittedly,

unknown thing

to me.

i’ve heard it said

that this thing,

when—or in my case,

if—acquired,

can change one’s life

for the better,

that all the facets

of being a damned human

are somehow made

more tolerable:

the learned judgment

from and of others,

the menial and meaningless

“work” of a society

that only speaks 9-5,

and the fear of being alone,

and of dying—

all these facets,

are somehow deemed

irrelevant, powerless,

and unblighting

of the higher human spirit—

a spirit refined

from the release of fear

and the embrace of suffering.

no,

suffering is no longer suffering.

it is instead

room to grow,

and that fear

becomes an equal parts uncanny

and just-as-intentional love

for one’s life.  

and so, perhaps,

the damnation that comes from being human

really is made tolerable,

actually, more than—

perhaps, clichély and strangely so… 

beautiful.

so, the Love of Self,

i will find you

esoteric and elusive as you are;

i will find you. 

i will find you. 

i will find you.

and stake my claim

on all of what was stolen from me

by an insecure, shaking-in-its-boots kind of world

i will show it 

through undeniable proof of my own

that there is a better way. 

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