If I Had Youth

If I had youth I’d bid the world to try me;
  I’d answer every challenge to my will. 
And though the silent mountains should defy me,
  I’d try to make them subject to my skill. 
I’d keep my dreams and follow where they led me;
  I’d glory in the hazards which abound. 
I’d eat the simple fare privations fed me,
  And gladly make my couch upon the ground.

If I had youth I’d ask no odds of distance,
  Nor wish to tread the known and level ways. 
I’d want to meet and master strong resistance,
  And in a worth-while struggle spend my days. 
I’d seek the task which calls for full endeavor;
  I’d feel the thrill of battle in my veins. 
I’d bear my burden gallantly, and never
  Desert the hills to walk on common plains.

If I had youth no thought of failure lurking
  Beyond to-morrow’s dawn should fright my soul. 
Let failure strike—­it still should find me working
  With faith that I should some day reach my goal. 
I’d dice with danger—­aye!—­and glory in it;
  I’d make high stakes the purpose of my throw. 
I’d risk for much, and should I fail to win it,
  I would not ever whimper at the blow.

If I had youth no chains of fear should bind me;
  I’d brave the heights which older men must shun. 
I’d leave the well-worn lanes of life behind me,
  And seek to do what men have never done. 
Rich prizes wait for those who do not waver;
  The world needs men to battle for the truth. 
It calls each hour for stronger hearts and braver. 
  This is the age for those who still have youth!

Looking Back

I might have been rich if I’d wanted the gold instead of the friendships
    I’ve made. 
I might have had fame if I’d sought for renown in the hours when I
    purposely played. 
Now I’m standing to-day on the far edge of life, and I’m just looking
    backward to see
What I’ve done with the years and the days that were mine, and all that
    has happened to me.

I haven’t built much of a fortune to leave to those who shall carry my
    name,
And nothing I’ve done shall entitle me now to a place on the tablets of
    fame. 
But I’ve loved the great sky and its spaces of blue; I’ve lived with the
    birds and the trees;
I’ve turned from the splendor of silver and gold to share in such pleasures
    as these.

I’ve given my time to the children who came; together we’ve romped and
    we’ve played,
And I wouldn’t exchange the glad hours spent with them for the money that
    I might have made. 
I chose to be known and be loved by the few, and was deaf to the plaudits
    of men;
And I’d make the same choice should the chance come to me to live my life
    over again.