Younger Than That Now

My heart was sewn upon my sleeve

Its colours black and white

I had no time for shades of grey

My path ahead shone bright

I would not bend or flex my mind

Or shifting views allow

But I was so much older then

I'm younger than that now

The world - a bruised and broken sphere

Was mine alone to mend

With heated words I stood my ground

And angry letters penned

Chastising generations who

Had failed to act somehow

But I was so much older then

I'm younger than that now

I gorged on trite, romantic words

That spilled from Mills and Boon

That single look as eye meets eye

Across a crowded room

Convinced that nothing in the world

Could break a sacred vow

But I was so much older then

I'm younger than that now

I mocked the faith the child in me

Had built into my life

Believed instead religion was

The cause of endless strife

Science gave me answers to

The what and why and how

But I was so much older then

I'm younger than that now

I knew I was invincible

A hero near-to-birth

I saw my life a comet bright

Across a dim, dark earth

A furrow carved across a field

My passion as the plough

But I was so much older then

I'm younger than that now

My autumn soul has found its rest

My summer heart fights on

But now I lean upon the Lord

And find all striving’s gone

He meets the deepest needs in me

My what, my why, my how

Oh yes, I was much older then

I'm younger than that now

(A tamer nod to Bob Dylan's "My Back Pages")