Man and his pain

To man, an old question do I bring,
Is it better to have loved and lost,
Then never knowing?
Is having love worth the cost,
Of it never showing?

Can man live without it?
Or is he destined to go on through life,
With always a heart ach? I don't doubt it.
To continuously have the etched mark of strife,
Written on his face, how 'bout it?

Can he give love a kiss,
Just to be kicked in the teeth?
Or take a stab and knowing love, and miss,
The precious stones beneath?

It is mans roll, to be forever hurt.
To feel none of life’s mirth,
To take off the sleeveless shirt,
And bare the burdens of his birth.