When I Wear the Gray Crown

To those who went before us

And paved roads with their bare hands

Who fended off an army of sorrows

Young men could never understand

- - -

To those who guided us in the dark

And never forgot the way home

Whose footprints steer straight and true

Away from the path of death’s kingdom

- - -

To those who, in the face of sheer hostility,

Chose not to waver in the storm

But held fast in the anchor of wisdom

That they have found after countless errors

- - -

To the husbands and wives

Who have kept the oath of their covenant

And never broke it with a wandering glance

But showed sacrificial love again and again

- - -

To those who treasured their children

And gathered them like arrows in a quiver

Who were ever-ready to lay themselves down

Whenever we were swept up by the river

- - -

To those who did not show hatred

By lack of discipline

But proved their love through the rod

Whose lessons have guarded us since

- - -

To those who still search for knowledge

As one does silver and gold

Who still look to their fathers

And have never abandoned their mold

- - -

To those who stand in the achievement of their years

In which they have labored and lived

Who turn to the young and say,

“Let me show you what I can give.”

- - -

Though I am still blessed with youth,

My purpose has not met its day

But should I live to wear the gray crown,

Let the work of my elders be on full display