Small Black Heart

We’ve done our time
There’s nothing left to mend
It’s no big crime
It’s just the way things end
So despite the mauling
It won’t be falling apart
It’s such a small black heart
It’s not assault
It’s not like Rome was burned
It’s not your fault
No need to be concerned
Forget the soft shoe dance
'Cause there was no real chance from the start
For such a small black heart
Yet I must assert It wasn’t always so
But with each new hurt
The smaller it would grow
Till, black from blue
It turned into this scarred and tiny ball
That hangs on just for spite
And, barely then
And barely then…
So save your breath
It’s not as if you lied
It’s not quite death
It’s just a thing that’s died
Now every wound you nurse
Inflicts a pain far worse than the smart
From such a small black heart…