Pride

Pride is a reaction

of the unit

who rallies and rises in attempt of survival

against the threat of assimilation or subjugation

by the swallowing mass.

It emphasizes distinction

To reassert its self.

It draws borders and boundaries

it pushes against them and proves itself separate

from the will and the identity

of the rejected collective.

Because it rises in opposition to entities

that symbolize the threat

an overbearing parent

domineering companions

an insipid context

an abhorrent environment,

as long as the threat is still perceived

as external entities

or as a hurting wound

the threat lives

and pride persists.

It does not fade alone

it must be consciously unstuck

seen, recognized,

accepted, understood,

known to be now obsolete

and taken off our walls.

For pride does not judge

it merely repels and safeguards

for the sake of maintaining the integrity

of the unit within,

like a membrane of oil

around our drop of water

within a watery world.

Hence consciousness must judge it

if we are ever to be free

from its long-lasting grip.

For past its useful lifetime

Pride isolates, rather than protects.

It disconnects, rather than defines.

And keeps us unable

To see the world as it is.

Not as an enemy to best

Nor as a wrong to rectify

As it is.