I am not

I am not the sum total of my mistakes,

A past ever so present and incomplete.

Believing that a true heart never breaks,

Was a crime not of passion but conceit.

It cost me the fragrance of my years,

The indomitable splendor of my youth.

But I am not the sum total of my fears,

Released as I have been by the truth.

When you told me the tale of another,

I replied you were free so to choose.

Knowing that the choice for the other,

Meant a life by my side you would lose.

The vanquished prostration of silence,

Was all you could see from your view.

But these are the words of defiance,

I am not the sum total of you.