Quite Wonderful, I Think

Life is wonderful, I think, quite lovely to see And wondrous to live, and thrilled I am to be Witness to greatness and golden, young fun And I think, what tragedy it is that that is gone As sun sets everyday, taking from us each time A bit of that wonder, with every last chime Of the clock at midnight made bleak with age Shadowed by pain and anguish and rage Shadowed, too, by knowing that those who can see The beauty and wonder are the carefree Born under shelter and given all that they need Cared for when hurt and never forced once to bleed On golden pathways or stone bricks they glide Ev'ry chance and choice, never denied But those born to walk nails know little else but The scars and numbing pricks of old, well-worn cuts With skill and heart and much wonder, too, But falling, still ever, to the back of the queue. Then life, suddenly, is not so very bright For many, so many, are left to die in the night A night we are scared still to step into Even if there lies the way to let all mankind through To a world of wonder and beauty and glee With no lacking need nor overlooked plea Those of us here, sun born and sun raised, Know that we are born ahead in this furious race And we must slow down, reach back into the night And show our fellow men, that they too, shine bright Let them find hope, too, that they too may see This wondrous world of compassion and beauty.