Aaliyah's Song

I have walked the world,

I have seen the world,

I know the world.

My spirit has endured

Countless trials,

My body hurt and battered,

My mind scoured,

My heart ravaged by the world.

But still I remain.

I have walked the world,

I have touched the world,

I know the world.

I have seen generations and friends,

come and go, like leaves in an autumn storm.

I have lost more than any other,

I have had more than any other taken from me.

But yet I remain.

I have walked the world,

I have heard the world,

I know the world.

My son was taken from me,

by the black hand of the oppressor,

sent to Elysium before a year had passed,

My angel, my darling,

Sent to Hades before a year.

But yet I remain.

I have walked the world,

I have wept for the world,

I know the world.

Why do I remain?

Because every trial

Is a victory waiting in disguise.

And whatever does not kill me,

can only make me stronger.

Why do I remain?

For the bright memory,

of many a lost friend.

To do them the honor they deserve,

to respect the dead and the living.

Why do I remain?

I have a new son,

not born of my blood but sharing my soul,

a strong, keen, beautiful child.

He is my angel, my darling,

my secondborn.

Why do I remain?

Because life is precious.

Because life is worth defending.

Because the lives of others are what made me who I am.

Because I owe life all I can give it.

I remain,

Because I wish.

I remain,

Because I must.

And when the time comes to go,

I will know that I have done good in this world.

When the time comes to go,

I will know that my soul has been found worthy,

for I have made the world as it was meant to be.