When I was young I thought I’d be somebody Now I exist unsung Wander through life numb Where does it go The hope and joy of youth Barely now a faint glow Living in deference to hard truth I was alive once (Are you still in there?) I had dreams once (Are you still in there?) I believed once (Are you still in there?) How do you reconcile who you were as a kid A ballplayer, a lawyer or vet When it seems all you’ve done with your dreams is backslid It feels like life is done, though you haven’t died yet To pinpoint precisely When potential is squandered To quantify concisely How optimism was conquered Rumination will suffocate What’s left of your child inside But I’ve walked through that gate And there is nowhere left to hide I was alive once (Are you still in there?) I had dreams once (Are you still in there?) I believed once (Are you still in there?) Yet there are moments Brief flashes of joy Or acts of atonement Which reconcile me with who I was as a boy It’s not always easy to keep proper perspective When there will be no retired numbers, no bylines No high-profile cases, no treatments effective We live confined by our prior choices designs I was alive once (Are you still in there?) I had dreams once (Are you still in there?) I believed once (Are you still in there?)
