I'm tangled within myself, too proud and vain,
Shy away from kind people, who've helped me again and again.
To realize I've been vulnerable, was in the need of help and care,
Is something I push under the carpet - I'm self-made, to be fair!
That illusion of self sufficiency, is daily taken to task,
A forest of humans support me, I rise from their ashes if you ask.
A bit of my parents died daily, as they gave me wings and sacrificed,
I've received gifts over the years, from the common man to the Christ.
The only way to honor such presents, is to become a gift yourself,
Give freely of your time and attention, go out of the way to others help.
You accepted the gift with humility, now it's time to pay it forward,
Let your ego die, be born in others, don't be attached or a coward.
The purpose of life is not to be self-contained, it's to be useful, to touch a life gently,
The seed must break, receive gifts from soil, and by becoming a tree share it's shade evenly.