Die Young

Born young

Die old

The sweet cruelty of youth

Tainted with promises of strength

And dreams

And hope

And ever afters

Taken slowly

One

By the hands of time,

Unbiased and uncaring

Ticking slowly to our rest.

Are we the lucky ones

Who live long years and plod the earth?

Who stare at stars until awe fades

To feeling lost and small?

Or are the lambs of youth,

Shepharded into folds where we can't reach,

Taken from these hills too soon?

Is youth wasted on the young?

Or is it a trick of time,

A consolation prize for things to come?

A book on loan that must return,

Save for those who live

Forever Young.