The Prince of Denial

"Why are you doing this to yourself.
Why are you doing this to yourself?
You don't have to answer me.
You must not answer me.
But you must answer yourself."

"Why the subjugation to the life of a penitent
In your priest's cell of self-abnegation?
The thin army cot, the bare walls,
The total absence of possession,
A sergeant's room, green and white,
Because possessions can too easily become
Just one more hassle for someone else to do"

"What agony do you carry within you,
The sin so deep that it forms your core?
The walls are so thick and so heavily guarded,
So guarded that it takes the bulk
Of your day's allotment of strength
To maintain them. Your life is lived
On the meager scraps that remain."

"Why are you so tired, so tired,
That you cannot give any more of you
Because the little bit of you left
Is all that remains of yourself
And without that you are nothing."

"Then is where you will find your answer.
You will not know when you've found it,
It will just be there, as if it had been there
All your life, and it had, all your life.
And it will be your unique, custom-tailored,
Self-constructed person - your own work of art."