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The inevitable rot of pain

Festering beneath her eyes

A forced smile, forcing a laugh

A little piece of her falls away

And all our pain inextricably linked

To a thread of suffering without end

Beyond the sands an empire dies

Beyond the sands madness infests

An empire hears her cries beyond the stars

Beyond the sand her tears salt their tongue

Drawn in by the scent of her wounds

Whispering to her, reality slips away

Cooing in their ears with sweet-scented words

Promising relief she knows cannot be true

A hand across her belly, reassuring

Exhausted by the weight of intimate pain

Burdened by a loss felt across the stars

To be vulnerable is a luxury

They mistake for weakness

Like countless women who came before her

The choices she makes are cruelly unfair

And yet she will make it

Because no one else will

The inevitable rot of pain

Festering beneath her eyes

A forced smile, forcing a laugh

A little piece of her falls away

All our pain inextricably linked

Towering agony in ruinous fields

Beyond the sands an empire dies

Beyond the sands a cruel and quiet sacrifice