'Czlowiek Z Marmuru'

'Man of Marble'

Selected, praised,

polished and promoted;

built up to be discarded.

Principled, questioning insistently.

Rebuffed, rejected, then

denounced publicly.

Remaining steadfast, persistent -

always consistent.

Breaking stone, but unable

to crack the foundation of his ideals.

Wearing him down and out, but

erosion is followed by deposition,

as a man's ideals become another's mission.

No lie can last forever, despite a silent war of attrition.

13th May 2005, Hertfordshire