An Unhappy Young Man

An unhappy young man faced a stream
There he would pace and there he would dream
If only the water would not flow
He could move on and a better life know

And there he relived all his mistakes
Wishing and missing all that life takes
But, no matter- the past is long gone
And his only choice now was to move on

Up or down the stream- away from this spot
Acknowledging errors- he vowed this lot:
To daily be noble and compassionate
To repent happily as one fortunate

And as the way ahead would not be easy
He pressed on with fear, somewhat queasy
With first things first he would begin
To work on his most grievous sin

With priorities set, he chose to improve
For where one's thoughts lie, there one does move
And with the commandments as his handbook
Peace and joy in his life soon overtook

As he embraced the words of the Lord
Gone were homelife's feelings of discord
The emptiness in his soul began to shrink
As more on his family he did think

At church, he attended all his meetings
And accepted and served within callings
And as one who knows of the high cost
He never let the distressed ever feel lost

He'd never let a wedge drive between
As he ever remembered life stuck at the stream
And when he looked back upon his life
He expressed gratitude and gave thanks for strife

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin
Self-Improvement Via Gospel Living
Ensign, November 2003