Tag: AIDS

I won’t lose my dignity.
Even though everything is gone
And I’m left with just mistakes and chronic emptiness.
Even though I’ve sold my soul and guitar
For the sake of pipe dreams and smoke and mirrors.

I won’t lose my dignity.
Even though I’ve wound up alone
Except for the ghosts of the voicemail machine.
Even though my life has been repossessed
And I’m now in receipt of income and life support.

I won’t lose my dignity.
Even though my skin is so weak and discoloured
That I can’t recognise my own ethnicity.
Even though I’m sweating ice cold bullets
And my eyes are leaking like warm battery acid.

I won’t lose my dignity,
Even though I’m bound to this hospital bed
Like I’m in an unpayable life debt.
Even though I can’t hold my head high
But I know I can rely on this mountain of pillows to do it for me.

I won’t lose my dignity.
I’ve already lost so much.
I’ve lost my money.
I’ve lost my friends.
I’ve lost my mind.
I’ve lost my weight.
I’ve lost myself.
I’ve lost my will to be an addict.

I won’t lose my dignity.
Even though my grip
Is barely strong enough to hold a needle
Even though I’m here by force,
It’s only because I’ve forced myself to do this.

I won’t lose my dignity.
Even though I probably could or should
Because it would just make sense.

I won’t lose my dignity.
Because I won’t let it go.
Because I refuse to lose the one thing that’s keeping me strong.

Today’s question comes from Jonathan Larson’s ‘RENT’