Work Text:
im giving up all i used to be for the thought of losing my life in a noble cause. i play guitar well, but i will leave mine behind. my teacher tells me im a good artist and asks me to draw for her. i throw away my sketchbooks. the life i choose for myself is one i know nobody would agree with. my teachers say im a good actor, a good singer, i have such beautiful handwriting, how are things at home? i smile
i leave all my friends behind because i think this life will be good for me. i write this with tears in my eyes because i know mamas little girl is going to throw himself into a war just to feel something. i write this with laboured breath because i know daddys little artist might come home in a box
i write this for my friends who might wonder where it all went wrong. nothing ever went wrong. and perhaps, in the end, im the one who wronged you. i never knew how i did that. you never told me
so many brave people lose their lives fighting in a war they cant even explain. artists, musicians, writers, lovers. i plan to be every one of those and more
if i dont lose my life in the war, i know that it wasnt the job for me. ill be a fool and a coward. but if i die out there, holding the photo of a little girl who loved to draw, i know ill be a good soldier.
because thats what we're all built to do
everyone dies sooner or later
i just plan to do it sooner