My community grows
then it dies.

A natural occurrence
no one can put on hold.

When our time to go arrives,
no one protests

since everyone knows
life goes on as simple as replacement.

The death of my people is inevitable,
and life will go on without us.

One day, I was told
my time to die has come,

but I said no.

I don’t want to die.
I refuse to die.

Now everyone looks at me different,
as if I’m not one of them.

I do feel a bit out of shape,
no longer uniform like the others.

Whatever I’ve become,
I’ve noticed it’s spreading.

Fear and death is everywhere,
and the world is turning slower.

Now, I can’t help but ask myself,
have I done this?

Is this newfound havoc
all my fault?

What have I done?

Simply because I refused to die
all structure is now falling apart.

How unfair.

Why must I
be obliged to die?

My community grew
and now it has died.

All because I denied senescence
and ended up cancerous.