A Simple Song From Long Ago

One full stomach and a good nap later,
The whole world seems just a little less gray
As I bend the old guitar across my lap
And try to remember how to make it sing.

I start with an old ditty
That I wrote in my twenties,
The old tune is even still warm and pretty
As it buzzes along the strings;

Unrefined words, dripping with insecurity,
For a younger her, from a much younger me
Softly sung and full of the plea
For her to slip into my arms.

She was so sweet and full of life
I was so naive, wanting her as my wife
But the years have now turned like the twist of a knife
And the tick tocks of the clock on the back of my mind

Yet as the song goes on and the strumming hums
I realize my true song has barely begun
As the golden light of the evening sun
Floats through the window shades soft and calm

Just like it used to, long  ago,
Though these days you may not always know
By the look on my face and the step in my flow
And the storm clouds in my eyes.

But there still lives that song deep down inside
A warm one I hope to someday convince
That it no longer needs to hide,
It would be welcome to simply persist.