I go into my mind
To find that which is me
To learn its composition
And come to believe in me.

I find many different persons.
One is shy and submissive
Another adventuresome and wild.
Yet both are part of me.

I find virtue and strength
I find hate and weakness
All are there within me
And must become compatible.

When I feel all of any part
I must learn direction
To call forth its counterpart
And find a middle ground.

In learning such discipline
I can live a useful life
Without the violent changes
Which prey upon my soul.

I must learn to hate, with love,
And demand with submissiveness,
In learning these things
I can survive within myself.

If these lessons cannot be learned
I will survive without living
For the turbulance within
Will make life an empty dream.

Bonnie Tallman

1970