To Step Aside

By the cathedral

Into the sun

Pilgrims are singing

Their journey done

I look at my short life and think

Of all the champagne that I drink

With all the faces that I know

And how much further can one go?

And if I decide

To step aside

I will try to reply to the feelings I hide

I look from my window

Down to the square

At workers still queueing

Patiently there

For market forces to provide

What history's so far denied

For a different kind of fate

Than to labour long and always wait

And if I decide

To step aside

I will try to return to the person inside

Will I always need you?

Would you want me too?

Can you love me for good

The way you thought you could?

Or will spring bring rain and summer burn?

Will tears at last precede the turn

From summer warmth to sudden cold

As certainly as growing old?

And if I decide

To step aside

I will try to forget all the tears I'll have cried