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 to?

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