michael walker - The elusive self.

I am reasonably happy with my own name, but if not,
I could easily change my name by deed poll,
and there are more than a few people who do this.
I like elegant, but uncommon, names like Arlen Specter.

Those who change their names must feel, to some extent,
that they have a new identity, not necessarily in the extremes of
good and evil like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, but a new social identity
when others greet them by their new name; like starting a new life.

There are yet others who have several aliases to use
in different countries; they are usually lawbreakers on the run,
of whom Ronald Biggs of The Great Train Robbery was one.
Do they ever regret not keeping to their given name?

Does my identity change with the passing of time?
My body is the same one, though the cells keep changing,
and the weight is never constant from week to week.
My mind, however, has changed a great deal since youth.

Am I the same self now that I was at twenty?
Despite all the bodily changes, in height and weight and
despite the kaleidoscope of moods, the highs and lows,
I disagree with David Hume, the philosopher, and say: 'Yes.'

_23 October,2014.

michael walker

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-elusive-self/