If I was a younger man,

I would use more commas than exclamation points,

make pregnant pauses mean something more in conversations,

and think a lot more during the silent moments I was dealt.

If I was a younger man,

I would take up causes that mattered most,

my view of the future would be shorter,

and I would risk so much more for what I believed in.

If I was a younger man,

contemplations would be richer,

reflections clearer,

and conversations more indelible.

As a younger man,

I would spend more time creating poems,

writing longer notes in greeting cards,

and I would call those I love for no reason at all.

My friends would be closer,

my enemies further,

and my heart would be softer,

as a younger man.

I would have listened to the older men more,

memorized more quotations,

created more memories,

and remembered what was most important.

Everything I’d do

would be taken down a notch or two,

time would be much more precious,

and Life would be boiled down

to a purpose,

because I was a younger man.

I would do it today instead of tomorrow,

look at the big picture,

and take more snapshots on the way there.

The clock would pale insignificant,

and my “I” would be much less important

than you.

And because I was a younger man,

my gains would be more intangible,

my virtues more apparent,

and my focus more intense.

I’d play more,

give more,

and say thank you to complete strangers

for their unknown acts of valor.

I would pet more puppies,

take longer walks,

and pause a few more times

to see the smaller things around me.

And I wouldn’t be afraid to cry.

I would be an older soul in a younger body,

chasing more inventions,

reading more genres,

and blazing more trails for the young men to follow.

I would scour the dictionary for just the right word,

enter more contests,

and I would share more of my winnings with strangers.

Edit less,

listen more,

and use smaller words to say the same things to more people,.

so they could understand

the musings

of men much older than them.

And maybe then, the younger men

would see the value of using commas more,

And exclamation points, a whole,

lot,

less.