This life is all we’ve got
This life seemingly so long
But over before it’s really begun
One chance to get it right
One time to make it count
And no path to tell us where to go
A finish line appears behind us
An end before the start
Lost before the prize is won
Our path hidden from sight
Our purpose in the shadows
Revealed only once traveled
One chance to truly live
One chance to fully love
Once in so short a life time
Who is in control
Who shapes our path
Is it us or those who surround us
True love giving always
Taking and receiving never
More pain than being alone
Betrayal and lies
From ones you trust
Cost of giving your heart away
Trust and love squandered
On those who shun and scorn
The most precious gift of all
Battered and bruised by the end
Torn and bleeding from wounds
Inflicted by those closest to us
Yet we carry on to the end
Seeming blind to the horrors
That nip at our heals and maim us
The only reason selfish
The only way to carry on
To live for only ourselves
The path most often traveled
The less painful course
But least worthy of our blood
True salvation in living for pain
For others unconditionally
Through the sweat, and tears
The true life being love
Though painful and harsh
Cutting us and making us bleed
But in the bleeding of our wounds
Finding purity of spirit and mind
Rejoicing in the hideous torture
Reveling in the agony
As we are dismantled and rebuilt
Time and time again along the way
Celebrating in a bath
Of bitter tears and dark blood
Thick with cries of relentless torment
Burning desire turning flesh to charcoal
Beneath it new skin emerges
Seeming strong yet more sensitive
Molding each into a solid gem
Of the rarest, most pure form
Perfection attained through fire
Only to use us to carve another’s face
Or to adorn an unworthy body
Smashing us back to dust in the end