“Look at that, you’re still alive! And look at me, practicing ethical behavior. I always knew I could change.” You think that I’m ethically challenged And you’ve taken so many classes I guess it must be so But still, I cannot see Why you’re disappointed in me When every single creature lived, you know Yes, they did You think I drain whatever beast I happen on As if its life is treasure I can claim But I know every claw and wing and antler Holds a light, holds an essence, has a name That’s exactly why I never take the whole thing I leave a little glowing deep inside And if it drags itself away still breathing Then clearly I stopped draining it in time Have you ever watched the crystal antlers shimmer? Or asked the sleepy fawn why it fell down? Can you sing with all the weakened woodland voices? Can you see every color floating ’round? Can you see every color I have found? Come watch me find a moonlit silver moth now Come see me draw the blue out from its wings I’ll leave enough that it can flutter homeward Though it may bump into several things That ember fox has far too much to spare here Its tail does not need every bit of flame I’ll take the gold and leave one coal still burning See? I even learned the creature’s name Have you ever heard the ember fox cry softly While its fire becomes a floating golden light? Can you dance beneath the colors trailing after me As they drift like little stars into the night? Don’t you think I’m finally doing something right? The heron and the otter can contribute The horned rabbit has a lovely green And we are all connected to each other So sharing with me seems perfectly routine I’m not taking everything they have to offer Only what they do not strictly need Every light that joins my violet constellation Sets another possibility free Take a little, leave a little Never drain the whole supply If it’s breathing when I’m finished I’ve been ethical, haven’t I? Just enough to make me stronger Just enough to make you weak Close your eyes and rest a moment You should wake within a week How bright does the lunar firefly glow? If I drain it dry, then we’ll never know So I always leave a little light within it Just enough to keep it breathing through the night If it wakes up sometime tomorrow Then I did it right “No one died. They’re merely closer to death than they were when I found them. That still counts.” Now you’ll hear all the frail voices of the forest As they whimper, croak, and wheeze beneath the moon I can dance with every color swirling ’round me And their owners should recover pretty soon I can feel the whole wide wilderness within me Every borrowed light becoming something new And I’ve left them all technically living What more could an ethical person do? Take a little, leave a little Watch the violet heavens shine Every life becomes a color And every color becomes mine You can lecture me, but still I have finally learned not to kill Now I carry every color as I go “Look at me. Changing.”
