Roles

a man needing
a poet feeling
a musician playing
a teacher guiding
a lover embracing
a pillar supporting
a wound hurting

the things I have been to you,
you have at times
needed them,
loved them,
hated them.
which do you need to love to hate now?


***
We were talking briefly in one of my classes today about a theory of identity based upon the various roles one fills in his or her life. I thought immediately of this poem I wrote... well, a long time ago...