Stone

There was a girl I knew
Who found herself saddened, yet wise,
So after a couple of heartaches
She bound up her heart in ties.

At first it seemed to give relief,
No ache or sting in her chest,
But a heart of stone only has so long
Before it is not at its best.

Slowly but surely, the form fell away
Smoothing the edges and corners,
Until there was only a rock in the cavity there,
With no one left to mourn her.

One day my friend with the heart of stone
Met someone unlike any before.
And then a new ache started up in her chest
One she thought would be there no more.

Her awakening was painful, as the rock
Was chipped and reformed back into a heart
Yet my stone-hearted friend couldn't feel again
As she and love through the rock, were kept apart.

(Alternate, happy ending, replace last stanza with:

Her awakening was painful, as the rock
Was chipped and reformed back into a heart.
So my stone-hearted friend and her found-again feeling
Were never again to be apart.)