What once was
Is now no more
The hand that rocked
The cradle has gone;
The voice that betrayed
Love is lost;
The face that smiled
Is wrinkled now;
The eyes that yearned
Are in their sockets sunk;
The heart that loved
Is in pieces thousand broken;
The skin rosy, warm
Is colored pale now;
The feet dainty, soft
Are worn out by
The ravages of time
Yet I now stand
Bold and strong
My voice enough loud
To ring in ears
That once craved for
A sound from my lips
My mind’s made up
It will not change
I have had enough
Bid me not to take more!
******
What once was
Is now no more
The tears I wept
Now come no more
Before me stands
My fate, that I
In the heat of youth wrote
The pen is dried, the paper is parched
Oh whither shall I now go!