A young man and an old man talked one day.
Said the boy, “I think I’ll go away
From Dad’s old house . . . don’t know just
when.”
The old man listened and asked, “What then?”
“I guess I’ll have some fun in town
The first few years . . . then settle down
And get a job and earn a lot.”
The old man smiled and asked, “Then what?”
“Why then I’ll meet the girl of my dreams,
Whose folks have money; and then it seems
I’ll buy a fine home with everything new.”
The old man queried, “Then what will you do?”
“I guess I’ll invest in bonds and stocks;
That’s where they say opportunity knocks.
Maybe by that time I’ll be governor.”
And the old man asked, “And then, what more?”
“I guess I’ll retire if I please,
And travel and live a life of ease.”
The old man thought as he scratched his head;
“Then what will you do, my son?” he said.
For a moment the young man made no reply.
Then he answered slowly, “I guess I’ll die.”
A deep silence followed as both of them thought.
Then the old man asked softly, “My boy, then what?”
—Bulletin Digest
(Copied from The Southwesterner, October 2013)
