| An Ode to my Youth Now that life has led me into warm routine, And as I leave behind my cold and selfish youth, I look with more conviction toward my future, And pray to find fulfillment within truth. I see with some regret my joyous childhood, When innocence protected me from pain, When time was merely fun; like money to be spent; Such times I know I'll never spend again. There follows my traumatic years of training, To form in mind and body as a man, Wherein I felt my innocence was threatened, Requiring me to seek what from I ran. And so through many heartaches and depressions, I led myself in blindness from the fray, Through battles with my heart and my subconscious, traversing out of darkness in dismay. And though I don't profess now to be victor, For deep within some scars must surely be, I know now life can offer me its richness, If into this new light my eyes can see. In childhood time was spent in idle fantasy, In youth I always fled into my dreams, Afraid to face my own responsibility, In dreams I found my peace or so it seemed. I do not hope this change to be a miracle, For to do so would return me to the blind, But I hope to see much more of joy and happiness, Though retaining all the heartache in my mind. For what would life consist of if forever, One smiled , and never once could shed a tear, Is it not because by drawing some comparison, our joyous memories seem to be more dear? So farewell I say to you my long lost childhood, And to you, pubescent youth I bid adieu, For it' s now that I must face this world alone, And yet I owe this opportunity to you.  footnote: This poem was written 23rd July 1979 .......2 days after my 21st birthday. It was my effort to thank the child and youth that I had left behind as I entered the most daunting phase in life........... adulthood. It means as much to me today as it did when I first wrote it. I hope that you enjoy! | 
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