Begin Again

The stresses of all these years
Their toll is manifest
Never felt
But now revealed
As I'm put to the test
This manufactured world of pain
Brings shock to the system
That rearranges DNA
Into a code of death
Evidence now introduced
The provenance is clear
Carelessness brings changes
If one is cavalier
If everything's in balance
Our bodies respond
Bur challenges emerge as life goes on
Women cry as children become men
And all that I can do is try to set things right again
Fear and doubt, confronted by our end
But all that we can do is try to become whole again
Witness the parallels
Between life and cells
Under stress to divide
Trying to conform
To what might seem the norm
Has brought me here where I might die