Reverse Engineering a Better Life

Unlearning a reflex takes quite a while As I cross the flooding Nile Overcoming my thirst adrift in the sea Mouth full of sand, blood too thick to bleed I'm losing a staring contest looking at a mirror And objects appear to get nearer and nearer Unfortunately the end has not been quick And my candle is running out of wick The call of the void was getting very loud Especially while mingling with the crowd The mindless herd with their hollow words Just chewing on cud and dropping turds My knee-jerk reaction is to explode I can not decipher the secret code My gut instinct is to run for the hills Instead of starting a battle of the wills My untimely demise has been delayed And most of my fears have been allayed Another chance to get it right or wrong To apply what I've known all along Last in a long line of glaring mistakes 1st in a succession of decisions I must make I can no longer succumb to temptation So I must sharpen my concentration On my way to heaven I had to visit hell Many times over and more than I can tell The last time I went is the last time I'll ever go The beat of my drum now has a different tempo