Edward Schwartz
ARE WE TOO OLD TO HOLD HANDSA simple phrase, not simple as it soundsFor all our age, calls back our younger yearsAnd leads us to the track where we were boundTo enter tunnels where we left our fearsAnd seeing nothing but the endless nightAnd still the anguish holds us in its graspIts mindless foibles biting like an aspThe wonder that any love at all existsThe rules they hammered into heads like fistsWe thought we lost those guidelines back in timeThey still exist in corners of the mindBut all it took was one small glass of wine. Drew myself together, said loud and clear, 'Am I too old to hold your hand, my dear?'