STRUGGLE MAKES IT WORSE

I recently got a call
from an old friend 
who had to have
his soul amputated
and needed some reassurance.

He said, "You know I'm still pretty, right?” 
I said, “You’ll always be pretty to me, Chuck.”
And he was like, “Bro, I’m fucking serious.”
But Chuck, lovely Chuck, didactic Chuck, friable Chuck, puckish Chuck, ruminative Chuck, ubiquitous Chuck, flowery Chuck, hopeful Chuck, precious Chuck, worried Chuck, decent Chuck, human Chuck, soulless Chuck…

…he wasn’t being serious at all.