All I really need is me.

 

Just me.

I am not conceited.

I am whole.

 

If you were to remove me from society

subject me to life on a deserted island

like an emerald glass bottle

arriving on the shore of the unknown

myself is all I’d have.

 

Society surrounds me with material things

the media squeezes my mind

like water from a sea sponge

to conform and modernize

as my individuality and personal strength trickles down the sand

into a tide pool full of life.

 

I am what I can't live without.

I gather my strength

follow the drifting bottle

and escape to the unknown

for the world could give me nothing better than who I am.

 

I can’t live without me because I am the strongest thing I know

a breaking wave

the blistering sun

stronger than the tightest stitching of overpriced sneakers

a rigid backbone when I believe in myself.

 

I am a headstrong shark

durable and independent

I can catch my own prey

better than the sale catches the spender

and pull myself out of the current.

 

I am brilliant and clever.

I shine a light bright enough

to illuminate the darkest depths of the ocean

and can assemble shelter

to protect myself against the earth’s weather

 

Once I’m alone

the money

the brands

the luxury items

wash away

 

The worldly things are stripped

gone

the waves crash down

smash against the earth

and I am strong again.

 

All that is left is who I am

I am told I need these things to survive

these pleasures of the world

 

the tide pulls back

and I am out of reach

 

but the truth is

I don’t need these things

 

because here I am

 

thriving.