Essentially Me

By Roan Specht (‘25)

I am a sad soul with a happy heart
A broken warrior with determination
Life has shown me the worst
But I still stand when weak
I still get up when I fall
I keep to myself
I’m happy that way
I won’t get hurt that way
I stay away from pain
But somehow it always finds me
I write poems to keep the demons away
I read them to give me strength
I am a strong will-powered warrior
And nothing can keep me down
People strike at me
But I don’t let it affect me
I don’t let the pain
The fear
The demons
The past
Break me
Take me
The past isn’t who I am
It doesn’t define me
Nor control me
It’s made me who I am
But not who I wanna be
I wanna be essentially happy
Essentially who I want to be
Essentially me