The Lichen

A life lead with no sense of spirit
No perceived responsibility or sense of duty
Gratification at every turn, pleasing only me.
Yet knowing every answer to the Real Questions
I am my hypocrite, I am my doing as I say, not as I do.
I am equally vain and ashamed
I am confounding contradiction
After confounding contradiction
Artfully brazen, eager to leap
Socially introspective, risk averse
I am a fat man and an athlete
I am of this world and still spiritual
I am longing for love yet feel unloveable
I am a good man, and a conniving man
Depending on who you ask
I am oft taken advantage of
Yet equally a user of others for my gain
I am selectively moral,
Equally accountable to myself
And dismissive of my transgression
I should teach no one anything
Yet want to share wisdom
I am partly ever present
And never fully wandered
I am 6 hours of sleep
Deprived yet refreshed
Functional
I am not 8 hours
Nor am I 4 hours
I am broke, with no assets
Yet I own the highest quality goods
I could ever want
I am punctual
Except when I am not
I'm the one who doesn't vote
Yet rails against both candidates
I am a stickler for not accepting charity
Yet I seek it when I need something
I am talented and also very average
Deeply troubled
Yet mentally stable
I am my Mother
And most definitely my Father
Without the separation of the two
I am fortunate and guided by Grace
Yet always learn the hard way
I am every 5 out of 10 person you'd ever meet
Who feels there's an ocean of depth that makes me a 9
A life of karmic understanding
And gross abuse
I am 18
And 42
All at once
I am 2012
And 1983
Nature and nurture
In a perfectly flawed
Symbiosis.