old lovers' lament (©2006 Bob Stewart) Her eyes were staring into the next room just a little vacant and glazed The years she had spent all alone at night made a tear slowly fall out of sight His cane wound up under his hand, his pipe rarely ever burned With holes in the toes of dirty blue socks and holes in the ways that he had learned And the veins and the wrinkles protruded, and the lines of old age were made clear The passive resistance had long since ceased; the battle was won by the years Letters and cards of sweet remorse flooded the box in the home that wasn't their own Trembling hands and a faltering squint could no longer read the print Walking down halls where old age seems to crawl tomorrow is more than a year away Visiting hours are from ten to one but nobody bothers to come And the memories seem to live for a lifetime, though the lover's lover had passed on The long years of love'n made a sparkle in their eye oh, the past was going, going, but never gone yeah the past was going, going, but never gone