If We Were Young Men

If we were young men

  if we were strong

 

If we had fresh words

  to add to our song

 

If we were soldiers

  with war in our veins

 

If we were poets

  our voices reclaimed

 

If we were lovers

  of women that cried

 

If we went wandering

  our heart’s reapplied

 

If we were statesmen

  the world in our grasp

 

If we were sailors

  the wind at our backs

 

If we were farmers

  with meadows so green

 

If we were actors

  on stages supreme

 

If we were hunters

  new wolf on the prowl

 

If we were dreamers

  all wishes allowed

 

If we were young men

  still facing the sun

 

But alas, we are old

     —and darkness has come                 

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February, 2016)

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