The Poetry of Mark Daniel Milbocker 
Never to Be

A boy fights
to be a man, to grow beyond
himself and
the failures of a frightened
youth.

A man fights
to find his destiny, his love,
himself and
the success of steady 
years.

I dreamed of holding a child,
a child of my love and 
devotion,
but it was never to be.

I dreamed of shepherding a parish,
pouring out my love to
the needy,
but it was never to be.

I no longer dream,
and the potency of years
yields only faint words 
from time to time that
may endure.

But there is no one to answer,
no one to speak my name
and after all the years have gone,
that word I should have liked to hear,
will still never be spoken.
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©2008 Mark Daniel Milbocker  All rights reserved.