Youth - Jamaicans and Jamaica

Youth was once my dearest friend,
Youth went away before I knew
Nor do I know the reason why;

Youth went I know not where
And left me weak and worn, I fear.

We went up a mountain together ,
Youth came not down with me;

With Youth, I rode the whales

And swam the Northern Seas;

With Youth, I scaled Mount Everest,
Traversed the Sahara’s sands

And planted the flags at the Poles
If only in my mind.

I threw a golden apple to win Atalanta in the race,
With Youth I cleaned the Augean stables

And danced on the silv’ry moon;

On Mount Olympus , I wielded Vulcan’s hammer
And wooed Venus across the skies

If only in my mind..

With Youth, I led an army o’er the plain
To fight valiantly for glory and gain,
Brandishing King Arthur’s magic steel,
Riding winged Bucephalus to Greece
To seize the Golden fleece ,
To defend right and justice fair ,
Parting the heads of Medusa’s charm,
To mute the song of the dreaded sirens,
And keeping wandering sailors from harm,
While I sing my song of gallantry
Like Solomon to own a thousand of beauty
If only in my mind.

I taught Newton,, Freud and Enstein
And swore by God of Holy Book
That Marx and Lenin were wrong ;

I laughed with Youth at Darwin, the grandson of apes

And praised Hera and Zeus strong ;

With Youth from Carib land ,
I dared to conquer England
And adopted star-striped Uncle Sam,
Roaming the vast continents
If only in my mind.

I sat and waited till the break of dawn,
But Age and Wisdom came instead;

“Your dearest friend has gone,
With fickle Youth , you have had your day;

You have to live without him;” they say,
“You now have grey hairs on your head ;

Youth is an ageless rover,
He has found the youngest lover.”