IDENTITY

for Jonathan Miller

Why is it that we’re This and not That way
Inclined?  A natural disposition bends
Us toward distinct behaviors we display,
A quintessential force that shapes our ends.

Call it our Character or call it Soul
And see it evident from early on,
As if innate, proposing what our role
In life will be, the habits we shall don.

Though “one man in his time plays many parts,”
As circumstance and fortune may dispose,
A singular identity in hearts
Will manifest and temperament disclose.

     The happy news is we’re innately soulful,
     Denying which will only make you doleful.

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