When once the fire of a man's life has left,
When the love that once was felt is gone--
The crying of a thousand voices cannot touch him
Hidden away in his heart of stone.

Stone from the pain he felt,
Mortar made from the tears he cried.
It's been so long now, 
He's forgotten that he once tried.

The moat around his heart is wide and deep--
The waters from the seven seas he searched
In the vain attempt to find happiness again
The bridge across rarely lowered, rarely seen.

And still, on quiet nights, can be seen this man
Wandering, alone, silent, lost in a world 
That no longer exists, He still looks --
Searching for that which is now forever denied.

--The Wandering Bard--          April 11, 1994