Ballad of a Beast

My friends, both old and of the new mould,

Both from the shadow and the realm of gold,

To each when you became so dear,

A shard of my heart I had given to keep near.

Over the years, now I have found,

Of all the shards I had passed around,

A few were lost, a few thrown away,

A few found to be a burden on the way.

A fragment is all that is left of my dear heart,

I guard it zealously from all who would tear it apart,

And yet to you, so naive, so gay,

I grant you my life even as you unthinkingly say...

"What are you, but a beast without a heart,

A stranger, a wanderer, is this all you can grant?"

'A beast without a heart', 'tis very true,

But only because my heart bled for each one of you...