Lament

The choice was mine and mine completely
I could have any prize that I desired
I could burn with the splendor of the brightest fire
Or else – or else I could choose time.

Remember I was very young then
And a year was forever and a day
So what use could fifty, sixty, seventy be?
I saw the lights and I was on my way.

And how I lived! How they shone!
But how soon the lights were gone!

The choice was mine and no one else's
I could have the millions at my feet
Give my life to people I might never meet
Or else to children of my own.

Remember I was very young then
Thought I needed the numbers on my side
Thought the more that loved me the more loved I'd be
But such things can not be multiplied.

Oh my daughter! Oh my son!
Understand what I have done!

(The moment EVA dies, embalmers move in to preserve her fragile body)

Eyes, hair, face, image
All must be preserved
Still life displayed forever
No less than she deserved.