TO MY YOUNGER SELF

You evolved into me
On the pathways of life.
And now I am free
Of your conflicts and strife.
 
You kept looking within
And new treasures you’d find.
Years wrinkled my skin
But never my mind.
 
On you fate has smiled
(by lightning twice struck).
You were reckless and wild—
You survived by sheer luck.
 
New valve, and beat cancer!
Old age redefined.
Running each day
Sustains body and mind.
 
Good health is now mine;
In old age I’m set.
My finances are fine—
I’m secure (not in debt).
 
You grew to seek good
And to question and learn.
From boyhood through manhood
Toward virtue I turn.
 
In our rat race of life
You never have gone.
So stay with me, youth—
It seems we’ve both won.
 

—Will Walsh