Who Am I To The Public Poem by Andrus Cassian

I am amongst a cold, barren desert
left unconquered by all who tried to seize in winter
I cruelly laugh mockingly at their repeat offender failure
I am as red as rust, traditions strong
nature a guide, taking like all in stride
I am the brainiac, the one with all the answers
though it suits me just fine to be the one with the muted tongue
I am the founder of what Shakespeare questioned
'Would a rose by any other name sound just as sweet'
The answer arrived in twin brown eyes
I am reincarnated into another being
another kind different from who I stand before everything this day
I am part wolf, part chameleon
I change my colors with my surroundings
providing a bright sense of comfort but I prefer solitude
beside myself, forever alone
I am orange in color, sustenance for a four-legged beast
equipped with pointy ears and a fluffy tail
I am a dunce alongside a genius and a con artist, my best friends
always in a mix of convoluted schemes
just to have enough to solve sweet toothed needs
I am a pigskin cradled protectively, dodging brick after brick
at full speed to reach a destination only suitable for champions
I am 1,222 pages strong
filled with deep emotion, complicated stories, memories
of a loser who lives like
a slave, a romantic, a gladiator, a chameleon, a wolf, a brainiac, a zombie
I am common sense untouched, utilized for nothing
I watch as impulsive acts win over contemplative thinking
I am the one, the only one who desires to be nothing
to be left dead and buried on an island far away
yet I hold on so severely, so desperately to all friends
all the ones who have made my life important
I am me