What is Youth?
by Ann Ballard (BloodrootZ Nonfiction Editor)
Youth deals not with age in years
It comes from what we are inside
It lives within the spirit and soul
And grows with new experiences tried
Youth is not a physical thing
A challenged body plays no part
It’s life and love, laughter and tears
It is what lives in soul and heart
Love stays young and spirit smart
Without a perfect physical shell
When soul and heart continue to seek
Stimulation in life, and apathy quell
Spirit can leap and dance and sing
The mortal body may not keep pace
It matters not what the body does
Spirit is life, youth’s saving grace
(This was previously published online as part of the Northwestern University Writers' Project circa 1999)
