Song on Empty

what he becomes

Song on Empty

His heartstrings still are measured by the mile,
exposed and strung and strummed with grace and style,
accompaniment to her voice for just a season
until she sang past love, toward reason,
then left them to his labor to pack and put away,
who, being but her workman, surely must obey--
a traveler past his station, useful as a rail,
a plank put in its place and hammered with a nail.