The Ballad of a Broken Man
There once was a man
Who lived on an island by the sea
He stared longingly at the distant shore
Where his home used to be
His island was not empty
He dwelled there with his pupils and his most loyal friend
However, his lover wasn't there
And without her, he'd rather meet his end
Late in the sparkling twilight
With a million stars aglow
He beheld the glorious pale moon
It resembled her luminescent fair skin; the mere thought of her was a painful blow
Instead he looked to the dimmer night sky
At the darkness between the stars
And the obscurity reminded him of her obsidian locks
He saw the island for what it was, a prison; where his tormenting memories were his cruel jailors, and the ocean between himself and his love his confining bars
He strolled along the ocean shore
The crashing waves emitting a low growl
The brilliant emerald sea was like her knowing eyes
The man fell to his knees and let out an anguished howl
His companion on the island heard his cry
Her heart sank like an immense boulder
She found him broken on the beach
She comforted him as she cried on her shoulder
She told him that he wasn't alone
If he ever needed someone, he could simply speak her name
She then saw the shattered soul behind his dusky sorrel eyes
She saw that, to him, it would not be the same
When the sun rose in the lightening sky
He concealed his emotions by sheer will
No one would ever learn of his forlornness
For he had other duties to fulfill
He enjoyed his obligation
To pass on the knowledge and sagacity that he knew
Alas, his mission was the unavoidable and immaterial barrier between himself and his Lady
That permanence harrowed him, and hence, his sorrows grew
His accompaniment could only watch
As he withered away
There was not a single thing she could do for him
Nor was there anything she could say
Both he and his distant love were bound by commitments to others
The thought of forever being without her froze him to the core
He knew that their love could not be, was doomed
But he loved her all the more
He and his love were so different
Yet they were two of the same
Many beings came and went
Though she never came
He earnestly wished he could
Yet he did not acquiescence to despair
So he continued his task with longing in his eyes
But those who noticed didn't care
Sleep almost never found him
But one night as he retired to his cot
To his surprise, he fell into the land of dreams
But he wished that he had not
He dreamed of his love
With a marvelous smile on her lips
At her side was a child
With another at her hips
The children smiled at him
Their eyes were tawny and jade
The boy at the woman's side called him "Father!"
He raced to his family, and the dream began to fade
He dashed towards them, his arms outstretched
As the child ran closer, the ground became viscid like the blood of pine
The child nearly grasped his hand
The man then awoke from the dream, and his dream became acrid like bitter wine
He wept for love lost
He wept for the children that he would never see
He briefly wept for himself
But mostly for the family that would never be
Still he keeps watch over the sea
Scouring the far and distant shore
Searching for his love's return
Then they would be together forevermore