Always,
we are what we are;
what we claim to be.
The words we dress in,
may be donned or discarded,
what lies beneath-
remains.

Turmoil
may rise through us,
sculpt the earth with violent upheaval,
but we are not those faults;
what lies beneath-
remains.

Life
will color us with experience,
stripe us red where it overwhelms,
taint us with histories.
what lies beneath-
remains.

Always
we are what we are,
but changed.
Never actually the same.
What lies beneath-
remains.