If

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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