If only he could have been the firebending prodigy,
His father would have made him his heir.
No quest for his long-lost honor
Or for his father's love and approval.
(something he will never get).
He was lucky to be born.
Oh, how he wished to be lucky.
(like azula).
But he wasn't born lucky.
(unlike azula).
He was just born.
His trials were his cross to bear
And he had learned how to fill the hole called his heart.
It had never been a hole without his father's love.
He had filled it with his new family:
Aang who calls him Sifu Hotman.
Katara who asked him to show her how to make tea.
Sokka who enjoyed sparring with him.
Toph who liked to bury him in her sarcasm comments.
Suki who had threatened to kill anyone who said rude things about him.
Mai who had quietly understood him and saved his life.
And Iroh who had been more of a father to him than his real father.
Zuko would never have his father's suffocating idea of love
And that was okay.
Zuko had found people who didn't need a firebending prodigy
Or a master swordfighter
Or even a prince
He could just be zuko, their friend,
And he would wear it like a badge of honor
Notes: Throughout the poem, zuko struggles to accept the fact that he will never be azula no matter how hard he tries. It shows him wanting to be azula but coming to terms with being himself. He figures out that he doesn't need to change himself to receive love.