When I was a very very young pup <br />They’d ask, “What do you want to be when you grow up? ” <br />My answers were happy and fanciful, as I was disposed <br />To believe I could be anything my mind could suppose <br /> <br />Fantasy twirled around in my head like a twirling top <br />I could be a cowboy, an actor or even a cop <br />An Emperor, fireman, a Prince or a King <br />I could be almost any great thing <br /> <br />Though I’m eighty plus, an adult I am not <br />Still just a kid with what all kids have got <br />Great dreams for tomorrow with long years ahead <br />I refuse to give in, and be one with those dead <br /> <br />That question’s no longer asked of me, and I can’t deny <br />I wish they’d ask it so I could reply <br />I’d like them to ask it over and over again <br />Before Father Time slams shut my youth-filled domain<br /><br />Stanley Cooper<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/what-do-you-want-to-be-when-you-grow-up/
