"I will conquer all," says the youth
As he contemplates the life ahead.
He starts school an A-student,
But he is teased by other students
And he gets into fights.
"I will conquer all," says the youth.
He continues on and becomes
A class clown, hero to some, jerk to others.
People think he is made of iron,
But their harsh words cut him like thorns to flesh.
"I will conquer all," says the youth.
His attitude strives to be good;
On the inside he is turning bitter
Like so many an apple in the orchard.
He loves but is not loved.
How can one love someone like him?
"I will conquer all," says the youth.
He graduates and gets a job
Since he cannot go to college.
He marries and is divorced;
Finds love only to have it taken
From him in the blink of an eye
By the foolishness of a drunk teen.
"I will conquer all," says the hardened man.
He grows old, bitter at the
Youth that took away his love
And destroyed his own ambitions
As a youth himself.
"I have been conquered by all," says the tired,
bitter, old man
As he breathes his last.
