And If I Did Not Make Mistakes

by Katie Paton

And if I did not make mistakes
And give too brief a thought to heavy questions
And too much time to little matter;
Or if I always knew which road to travel
Where every step would lead me into daylight
And if each face that turned to watch me pass
Was broken by a smile;
Or if, whenever I should choose to lay my heart
Bare upon the sun-warmed grass,
It always was returned with tender touches
And carried by a song;
And if my heaviest burden were only to be
A breeze upon my back, and blossom in my hair,
And my brow was never crossed with lines of pain;
If all this endless summer were my lot
And winter's fury never beat me back,
Then I never would have seen the stormy nights
Through which I've struggled, fought and won;
I never would have known the joy of needed comfort given,
Or the essence of a friend.

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Now there's a fresh perspective: how lucky I am to have made so many mistakes! I certainly have re-learned the joy of needed comfort given, and without the essence of friendship, I'm not sure I would still be here, fighting to stay.

Paton is a Scottish poet. Why is it our friends from the British Isles seem to have a greater talent for poetry, songwriting, storytelling. I don't think we Americans share the appreciation, the reverence, for the richness of language.