On Self

A long time ago

In an old leather bound book

I found a quote by Socrates

"Know thyself".

It felt like an answer,

A goal, something to live by,

So I adopted it.

When trying to understand the world

I only had to look inwards

Into my self

And be more aware

Of what I think and feel

And that the world is what I make it.

Years later it has helped,

But it isn't everything.

There are gaps,

Missing fragments

The unfleshed skeleton of truth.

When I look inwards

There are too many assumptions

How do I know that my truth

Is your truth?

How do I know the world I see

Is the world you see?

We all live in a world of silence,

A solitary internal monologue

Flattering our ego

Telling us who we want to be

Filling our thoughts with beautiful lies.

But, we rarely see what others see

The reality of self, good or bad.

Ultimately we all are

Alone in an empty room

Surrounded by blank faces

Echoes of existence

Simple reflections in clouded glass.

And all that we can perceive for certain

Is Self.