To My Twenties

New Addresses (2000)

How lucky that I ran into youWhen everything was possibleFor my legs and arms, and with hope in my heartAnd so happy to see any woman(O woman! O my twentieth year!Basking in you, youOasis from both growing and decayFantastic unheard of nine- or ten-year oasisA palm tree, hey! And then anotherAnd another (and water!I’m still very impressed by you. Whither,Midst falling decades, have you gone? Oh in what lucky fellow,Unsure of himself, upset, and unemployableFor the moment in any case, do you live now?From my window I drop a nickelBy mistake. WithYou I race down to get itBut I find there onThe street instead, a good friend,X---- N------, who says to meKenneth do you have a minute?And I say yes! I am in my twenties!I have plenty of time! In you I marry,In you I first go to France; I make my best friendsIn you, and a few enemies. IWrite a lot and am living all the timeAnd thinking about living. I loved to frequent youAfter my teens and before my thirties.You three together in a barI always preferred you because you were midmostMost lustrous apparently strongestAlthough now that I look back on youWhat part have you played?You never, ever, were stingy.What you gave me you gave wholeBut as for tellingMe how best to use itYou weren’t a genius at that.Twenties, my soulIs yours for the askingYou know that, if you ever come back.