Just Who Would I Have Been

I am a Gladiator

And I will kill you

I am a Gladiator

And I will show no mercy

As I stand in a ring

Surrounded by the masses

Expected to spill blood

And spill blood I must

To keep the mob at bay

To quench their thirst

To stay their power.

I am a Gladiator

And I will not hold back

I am a Gladiator

And I am victorious

For if I am not

My life will end

My heart will cease to beat

My body brought to its defeat.

I am a Gladiator

And a prisoner in chains

I am a Gladiator

And a slave

Captured and bought

For the entertainment of the people

To slaughter, massacre, kill

Without thought or emotion

With only strength to bring forth a conquest.

I am a Gladiator

And I fight with vigor

I am a Gladiator

And I kill with sorrow

For their blood is my blood

Their blood is my friend’s blood

Their blood is my family’s blood.

I am a Gladiator

And I regret my life every day

I am a Gladiator

And would sacrifice myself for you

My friends, my family,

My blood.

I am a Gladiator

And I am lost

I am a Gladiator

And wonder just who would I have been

If I stayed on the farm

Raised my family

Lived the life I was meant.

But

I am a Gladiator

And I will kill you

I am a Gladiator

And I am sorry.