Not that you'd notice;
And certainly not after that much drink.
But trust me, they're the hardest yet,
The most enticing dreams I've met
All shattered in a searing wink
Of one princess's eye.

We're softer in the head
But nobody notices a hardening heart
When manias cackle throughout the day.
They just expect chuckles in all we say
And a cheery grin for the gossip tart
When she comes to bed.

I suppose it's better
Than hardly feeling anything at all.
But in the evenings when the sun's buggered off
I can't help feeling irrevocably lost:
There's hardly a star I haven't seen fall
Or a moon shatter.

The various chunks of me
That have hardened; my heart, my soul, my nose;
Have hardened for good, yet there's still a flair
For hard interference in abject despair,
For softening voice when I have to suppose
That she'll never flee.

It's hard, so hard
To prevent intrusion yet still talk with you.
I think you have noticed and kept things in check,
Reserving forgiveness I haven't begged yet,
Pretending to think that the things I still do
Aren't still concealing

The hardest feelings yet.