Facing the Thousand

In the distance, they are circling
I watch them go around and around, never tiring
The one near death is hypnotized and closes its eyes
One last time
Patiently they wait for that perfect moment to descend
And pick to pieces a once healthy
Body of passion and life

It's me or it's you and I get to decide
Which one lives and which one dies
Where and when?
How and why?
HERE and NOW
A vital organ plucked out
Because I need to survive
Self-sacrifice is suicide

Circling with occasional cries
Of delight?
Of anticipation or remorse for nature's ceaseless patterns?
Binding every being to the same sick fate
What unfortunate creature must suffer
Watching a thousand deaths spiral slowly towards it

It's me or it's you and I get to decide
Which one lives and which one dies
Where and when?
How and why?
HERE and NOW
A vital organ plucked out
Because I need to survive
Self-sacrifice is suicide

What unfortunate creature must suffer
Watching a thousand deaths spiral towards it
With the will but not the strength to move on
From this place
Just close your eyes, just breathe your last sigh
Just let go of this life
Just close your eyes, just breathe your last sigh
Just let go, it's come now, your time

How do you want us to die?
With regrets rotting away all of my success?
With longing eating away at my fulfillment?
Must every self-interested act inflict
Devastation on another?
Would you rather rot or be picked to pieces (still) alive?
How do you want us to die?