AUTHOR’S NOTE: Step Six of the Twelve Steps of programs such as A.R.T.S. Anonymous is, “Were entirely ready to have God [Higher Power] remove all these defects of character.”

Take my defects of character.
No. Not my stubbornness.
Let me cling onto some
Of my old ways
Like I cling onto this walker
That sways.
 
OK. Take my impatience.
No. Not if that means
I am the created
Rather than the creator.
Following up and following through
Can make my brain go a-blur.  

OK. Take my self-pity.
Take the frozen tears.
Mold me to serve others.
Help me squelch my fears.  

OK. Not the self-pity.
How about the stinking thinking?
It’s clogging up space
In my already scarred brain.  

Let my envy, greener than
A fresh dollar bill
Let it be the one defect of character
That to you, I surrender.
Take it wherever adheres to your will.
But leave me the stubbornness.