They’re one of your few pleasures, But they’re bad for you, you know... You laugh at the statistics, There’re more likely ways to go. You have nothing to live for... You lost your life long ago Because it’s no longer yours, Sold the first time you went on show On the slavers’ auction block, Betrayed by your one true friend, You stood shivering in your smock As he brought you to a bad end There’re worse things than cigarettes, As you’ve come to know too well. Life was going well, you thought, But now you’re living in Hell, Not the life that you had planned, Doing ev’rything you can, A slave for every demand... Submissive to any man You can no longer deny A man his perverse pleasure As your pimp takes his money And then he takes your measure... Once you tried to refuse Only to meet with laughter As you were beaten and abused, Hung by ropes from the rafters You were raped again and again, Men stood in line for “fresh meat,” Some you knew as the policemen Who “protect” you on the street So now you can’t go home (You’ve seen others die for less...) You couldn’t hide your shame No matter how you dressed... It just doesn’t matter that Others share your sad laughter Puffing on their cigarettes, Stealing moments from their masters... The “masters” who snatch children Or buy them from their parents And sometimes take young women, Selling away their innocence You smoke your cigarette now, Slow, to make the moment last Cherishing memories of Innocence from days long past... Now nothing belongs to you... Memories are all you have, No one can take them from you... You’ll carry them to your grave.
|