A child waits in anticipation

Eagerly awaiting a promised outing

But the minutes turn into hours

And the waiting continues

And as darkness falls

The child finally accepts the truth

Another promise broken

Just one more to add to an already overlarge tally

And another piece of the child's heart breaks

And heals itself with a hardened patch

Too many hard patches already hold the small heart

together

Before long, the whole heart will be hardened

And in the place of the child

Will stand a hardened teen

With a heart of stone