Different Yet The Same

In retrospect

I sit and review

The faces that 

I've shown to you

The angry boy

I used to be

Replaced by man

Contemplatively

The anger swells

Inside me still

Like tempest storms

That test my will

As time has passed

I chose to learn

That different fires

Inside us burn

Spirit, energy, intellect

Resolve, positivism, and vision

Replace the hopelessness and rage

That once held those positions

I seek to ride positive streams

Engage my inner light

At times the world around me seeks

To goad me back to fight

Perhaps a balance still I need

Between the flesh and soul

Acknowledge frail humanity

And evolution of the soul

Not every battle can be won

With prayer or good intention

At times the warrior must rise

And enter to contention

I know that I desire to lead

With harmony and peace

And slow to rile the baser side

Unleashing primal beast

So warrior and poet

Both exist inside this frame

Each support the way I feel

So different yet, the same

I'm still seeking.  I'm still growing; everyday a little stronger than the one before.