Just when I think it\'s over and done,
battles fought, victories won,
I settle back in my easy chair;
no worries to taint this cool evening air.
I sip Tequilla that swirls in my glass
and remember the days when we had to pass
on fancy things, like concerts and shows;
strange how the river of life tends to flow.
Just when I think the hard part is passed,
the peace I deserve has come at last,
the bottom drops out of my perfect life,
and I\'m faced with familiar heartaches and strife.
I was taught that all things occur by design,
that the great Hand in Heaven draws all the lines,
and we carry out the sacred plan,
even though it\'s unknown to the average man.
I\'ve come to believe that the point of it all
is getting back up when you\'re knocked down or fall.
It takes courage to live eight decades or more;
little do we know what things are in store
for the average guy who works 12-hours days,
loves his family, goes to church, even prays
for the poor and the hungry who camp nearby.
He brings them food, refuses to try
to understand all that comes his way,
for him, and others, it\'s enough to say
that life isn\'t always easy or fair,
especially when the gray streaks through your hair.
No, I can\'t say that I understand
the ups and downs of some heavenly plan.
I don\'t have time for philosophic thought;
I\'m torn between \"should\" and what I ought
to do for those who suffer and fail,
the sick, the dying, prisoners in jails.
Is this life about me and what I achieve,
about all the treasures I\'ll bequeath and leave
for my children to sort and then throw away.
It\'s not that I\'ll have very much to say.
I come back to the thought I mentioned before:
I have no idea what\'s in store,
and of all the traits that man can possess,
the courage to press on is among the best.
For, just when I think I\'ve succeeded and won,
the trap door opens and I take the plunge
back into worry and the pressures of life,
back to that place of anguish and strife.
It\'s the cycle that happens time after time,
unexpected, unwanted, no warning sign.
If I could have only one thing in life,
now that I\'ve lived through a lot of strife,
I\'d ask for courage, enough for each day,
and I\'d caution each person who is heard to say:
\"Love is the greatest treasure of all.\"
Perhaps, but when life crumbles and falls,
it takes courage, raw courage, to love once more;
I\'ll take courage to face everything in store.