It's Been A Wonderful Life

I want to skip, I want to run.
I want to be young and have some fun.
I want to run the longest mile.
I want to travel, and do it in style.

I want to ride in air balloons.
I want to write a million tunes.
I want to laugh and paint my face.
I want to write and fill MySpace.

I want to play first base again.
I want to cheer and help to win.
I want to work long hours each day,
Have weekends with my kids, to play.

I want to be an acrobat.
To jump a rope. To swing a bat.
I want to swim and catch a fish.
To be young again; that’s all I wish.

For if I were I’d do things right.
There’d be no carousing late at night.
There’d be no sitting on my throne.
That’d be for my God, and God alone.

I’d study hard the facts to learn,
And get good grades at every turn.
I’d welcome times to spend with Mom.
I’d go back and not leave the prom.

My kids would know how much I care.
I would be kinder, and I would share.
I’d play in the leaves and slide in the snow.
I’d mark every inch when they started to grow.

But now, in the autumn, I just look behind.
My youth is all squandered; nowhere to find.
I watch as the young ones pass through their days.
I wish I could join them, but autumn just stays.

I only can watch them as now I don’t run.
I give it my best to join in their fun.
But tomorrow is winter so I must prepare.
I know that it will be lonelier there.

So, I wait for my Father and smile while I wait.
Sometimes He is slow, but He’s never late.
I must go on smiling in spite of the strife.
Because, all in all, it’s been a wonderful life.

AN OCTOBER MOON

Driving a north Georgia highway on an October night,

I played peek-a-boo with a beautiful autumn moon.

Between the trees and hills it popped out it's bright face,

Only to disappear to wait to shine out it's beautiful tune.

"I'm here!" it shouts. And then it's light is gone.

It teases and taunts, making me desperate to pause.

Where can I go? Which way must I turn to find delight?

I have no place to stop. Alone, there is no sense or cause.

 

The brilliant platter beckons through the branches of the trees.

It shows itself only for a moment, and the branches whisk it away.

I see in the opposing sky a faint hue of paler tint.

I'm losing time. I need to run. Yonder comes the day.

Oh, yesteryear! I ache to embrace the joys

Of autumn nights when I was young and in another world.

Those nights flew quickly by and I knew no fears.

Ah! Had I known the nights to come to be unfurled!

But innocence protects us from advancing signs

Of bitter nights that provide us with no gorgeous moon.

So, I'll savor this fleeting moment of a graceful gift,

And pray that the moment won't leave me too soon.

I reach my home front just in time

To witness the oncoming glow of the beautiful new day.

The crisp, damp air bites when I leave for the door.

I turn to see the moon smile, but it's gone away.

Tomorrow, I think. But the voice reminds me

That it will never be the same. It cannot be quite

The wonder of tonight's splendor revealed to me

Driving on a north Georgia highway on an October night.

Quotations

"The Man Who Thinks He Can"

IF YOU THINK YOU ARE BEATEN, YOU ARE.
IF YOU THINK YOU DARE NOT, YOU DON'T.
IF YOU LIKE TO WIN, BUT THINK YOU CAN'T, ...
IT'S ALMOST A CINCH YOU WON'T.

IF YOU THINK YOU'LL LOSE, YOU'RE LOST.
FOR OUT IN THE WORLD WE FIND
SUCCESS BEGINS WITH A FELLOW'S WILL.
IT'S ALL IN THE STATE OF MIND.

FULL MANY A RACE IS LOST
'ERE EVEN A STEP IS RUN.
AND MANY A COWARD FAILS
'ERE EVEN HIS WORK IS BEGUN.

THINK BIG AND YOUR DEEDS WILL GROW.
THINK SMALL AND YOU'LL FALL BEHIND.
THINK THAT YOU CAN, AND YOU WILL.
IT'S ALL IN THE STATE OF MIND!

IF YOU THINK YOU ARE OUTCLASSED, YOU ARE.
YOU'E GOT TO THINK HIGH TO RISE.
YOU'VE GOT TO BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
BEFORE YOU CAN WIN THE PRIZE.

LIFE'S BATTLES DON'T ALWAYS GO
TO THE STRONGER OR FASTER MAN.
SOONER OR LATER THE ONE WHO WINS
IS THE MAN WHO THINKS HE CAN.

-Walter D. Wintle

When You're Different

It starts when you're young,
but you don't always know,
though the looks make you wonder
what is happening around you
that makes you feel funny,
and you want to withdraw
to a corner just to read or
observe the large gathering
When you're different.

And, as you grow,
you enjoy making friends.
The laughter and game playing
 can seem never to end.
Then the laughter stops around
something you've said.
The stares seem confused
and lost in the thought
of what had just happened
and how to respond to the
moment of misunderstanding.
Why don't they comprehend
the views and the humor
of your entertaining mind
when you're different?

The friendships that come and go
reflect the desire to
find the kind heart that
is open to observations
not normally explored.
They call you "deep thinker",
and some walk away
from a fear of discovery
of the changes that
may come their way.
But it's all a desire to
search the deep caverns
of a life that's wide-reaching
when you're different.