The Joy Gem

Coveted by great hordes of men
 Seeking the famous gem-power to bring them joy
 Hidden from dangers in the ground
 Buried as soon as found-safe under dirt and coin
 Betrayed by promises of old The gem just left him cold
 So in the hole it stayed
 Hidden there's no joy Hidden no lives touched
 Hidden no change in hearts of men
 Hunted by armies of the land
 Confident in their hands the promises would come true
 Finally under veil of night
 Stolen by blood and might the quest for the gem was through
 Betrayed by promises of old The stone still left them cold
 So in a new hole was laid
 Stolen there's no joy Stolen no lives touched
 Stolen no change in hearts of men
 Through years of theft and battle changing hands
 Gotten at great cost
 And carried as a prize to foreign lands
 Scarred deeply and chipped
 Waiting for the stone to show its pow'r
 Held high as a trophy
 The victors spent their lives confused and sour
 But never a gift
 This treasure just desired for its name
 Hoarded and buried
 Yet nothing realized to earn such fame
 Forgotten and cold
 A thing of beauty begging to be found
 Its light like a drapery
 For fear conscribed to languish underground
 Adorning a hole
 Now in my father's empty home
 Me and my child alone happen upon the stone
 I had heard stories through the years
 And with no little fear I give it to my boy
 At last the promises of old were just as they'd been told
 And now the whole was known
 Power to bring joy Power to touch lives
 Power to change the heart of man