when?

say you are walking along a road somewhere, and you come across this rock. there is nothing in particular that makes this rock different from the other rocks, but for some reason, you pick it up and take it with you. you are drawn to it - there is just something special about it. other people will look at it, think it's junk and tell you to cast it aside, but you don't. you take on the added weight...polish it everyday. you just know that there is a diamond in there somewhere. you carry it with you for years, and clean it down to be something better than it was the day you found it. the more you work on it, the less hope you have for finding that beauty inside. where is it already? maybe you were just wrong all along...maybe it's not a diamond in the rough after all...just another dirty rock.

all that time spent in vain. when do you know to give up and cast it back onto the road?

"there's nothing left to try
there's no place left to hide
there's no greater power than the power of good-bye
there's nothing left to lose
there's no more heart to bruise..."