Turn me loose and let me be <br />Young once more and fancy free; <br />Let me wander where I will, <br />Down the lane and up the hill, <br />Trudging barefoot in the dust <br />In an age that knows no 'must,' <br />And no voice insistently <br />Speaks of duty unto me; <br />Let me tread the happy ways <br />Of those by-gone yesterdays. <br /> <br />Fame had never whispered then, <br />Making slaves of eager men; <br />Greed had never called me down <br />To the gray walls of the town, <br />Offering frankincense and myrrh <br />If I'd be its prisoner; <br />I was free to come and go <br />Where the cherry blossoms blow, <br />Free to wander where I would, <br />Finding life supremely good. <br /> <br />But I turned, as all must do, <br />From the happiness I knew <br />To the land of care and strife, <br />Seeking for a fuller life; <br />Heard the lure of fame and sought <br />That renown so dearly bought; <br />Listened to the voice of greed <br />Saying: 'These the things you need,' <br />Now the gray town holds me fast, <br />Prisoner to the very last. <br /> <br />Age has stamped me as its own; <br />Youth to younger hearts has flown; <br />Still the cherry blossoms blow <br />In the land loused to know; <br />Still the fragrant clover spills <br />Perfume over dales and hills, <br />But I'm not allowed to stray <br />Where the young are free to play; <br />All the years will grant to me <br />Is the book of memory.<br /><br />Edgar Albert Guest<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-book-of-memory/
