To see myself for what is truly me

I must accept the ego is in twain

For ever fleeting is identity

When cast aside, the self is what remains

I am but a receptacle for life

Experience can mold me into man

Ephemeral, the lessons wrought of strife

Eternal is the person I call Dan

Wherein the passing days in endless bound

Should stretch ahead with no sense of relief

Where ev’ry gem of wisdom may be found

In conquering the objects of my grief

Though life can be so long, not much survives

Of who I was when I was but a babe

Still in my name forever I’m alive

So, this I swear to carry to my grave