And he said I can't because it will take too long
I can't be a doctor, a lawyer, a writer, an artist
I can't spend three years for that and two years for this because I will be too old by then
And she agreed that she couldn't either because it all will take her too long  as well
I can't go back to college because I will be too old then
I can't start a new career because I will be too old
I can't start a new relationship because I feel so old from the last one
I can't fix what happened with my family because too much time has passed,
I can't do any of those thing because I will be too old by the time I do
or I'm too old now to initiate any changes
and they both agreed, It's too late
and the years passed, and more years passed and one day they looked back and remembered when they said that it was too late, and they wanted all that time since then back because 
They were the age they feared that they would be too old by,
and instead of being what they thought was too old to have what they wanted, they were now not that old but without anything they wanted
They were that age any way, and without all they wanted
just as they would have been that same age but instead would have done it all if they didn't tell themselves that their idea of time should stop it or their idea of when or age should stop it,
So what do we do now they asked--is it too late again or is it really that we were just too lazy then and maybe just too lazy now because we realize now that
Time passes any way--
and it could either pass with you going after everything that's your passion
or it will pass without you going after any of it.
You are always the reason that makes time not matter
you are not some preconceived idea of what time is thought to say
Time passsing any way is on your side
You are any way you decide to pass the time
and certainly not the way you believe that time has passed you by
Here's to YOU!!-seize the day! and where there's a will, there's a way.
******************..­......................

Whether I'm right or whether I'm wrong
Whether I find a place in this world or never belong
I've gotta be me, I've gotta be me
What else can I be but what I am?

I want to live, not merely survive
And I won't give up this dream of life that keeps me alive
I've gotta be me, I've gotta be me
The dream that I see makes me what I am

That far away prize, a world of success
Is waiting for me if I heed the call
I won't settle down, won't settle for less
As long as there's a chance that I can have it all

I'll do it alone, that's how it must be
I can't be right for somebody else if I'm not right for me
I've gotta be free, I've gotta be free
Daring to try, to do it or die I've gotta be me

I'll do it alone, that's how it must be
I can't be right for somebody else if I'm not right for me
I've gotta be free, I've just gotta be free
Daring to try, to do it or die, I've gotta be me

I didn't write this song, but please let me share these words written by Walter marks and most known for the Sammy Davis Jr. rendition

Read more: Sammy Davis Jr. - I've Gotta Be Me Lyrics | MetroLyrics

With every day passing the crime is worse
no rhyme or reason just a curse
finding the gift and seeing it through
realizing there's me and you realizing there's you
yet there is nothing that will ever replace
the look in your eyes the heart I embraced
grateful for what was and can't think of what wasn't
Not even a stare not even a look
all I can say, is that it's said in my book
ask around and you will know the book's name
for the writing is there but it's not with my name
the people are realized and all of their lies
I'm sorry for how it all happened but it wasn't my crime
I'm sorry for how it all happened and I hope you will give us our time
No pills, no drugs, no smoke, no lies can take it away
I was loving, you were a loving and we greatly loved each other and we still do and we will have our day
Happy Birthday to no small wonder
My heart will always care and nothing will shut it
I only see the you, and who you truly are
I wont be deceived by the you, you sometimes had to be
Wake me up when September comes--I'm still alive
and congratulations on keeping it real
Away was your greatest choice
and in your discipline I rejoice
Happy Birthday and I can say
no hardship bigger than the Joy come what may

He saw her drop a wallet and nobody saw it
He returned it without her seeing it and she was glad
there was no thank you, no need to feel indebted to, no need to reciprocate, no belittling of the effort to not feel grateful, no aggrandizement of the effort to reward overly to the point of removing, no self-praise----all just a quiet act of kindness
but then someone did see him and blamed him for taking it in the first place and not only was the act not appreciated but it was scorned, misinterpreted, misunderstood, confused, defamed and finally ******.  When kindness is ****** could there be any greater crime?  The act was kindness and nobody understood it, and everyone jumped to conclusions, and everyone found one reason to **** for another reason, and nobody took the extra time, caring, compassion, and thoroughness and patience and love it would have taken to find out the truth---so the the greatest crime prevailed---far greater than the act that was understood to be the "justifiable damnation", but isn't it always the breeding grounds for justifiable damnation when conclusions about the biggest things in life are so quickly assumed to be true when they aren't.  Reverse the crime with patience, love, understanding, caring being thorough, being careful, and remember the act of returning the wallet held such integrity that your shine will show the light to everyone else sooner or later but your light will forever shine regardless so don't unjustifiably **** yourself either---love yourself---and thank you for returning the wallet

Every hug, every touch, every moment noticed and oftentimes the only one who did
every running to the rescue, every tear wiped away, every feeling catered to, and every whim satisfied
every question answered, every bully dealt with
every intrusion defended, every pain averted
every day of meaning glorified, every attention given
every song sung, and every need met
every resource provided for, and every extra detail taken care of
that I would ever have to help you recall is beyond belief
every moment of a million discarded for what was done
flushed away for what was some, for what was one?
every moment of a million forgotten for what was really none.
Every moment of a million remembered and love given back when it was needed most?  Where is that?
Anyone could be there when all is good and coming their way but what are we when we're not there for the person who was pummeled unjustifiably while fighting not only theirs but yours?
Is it the old saying when you laugh the world laughs with you and when you cry you cry alone what should prevail?
Or is it the saying that when a person cries that is when they need you most and that is what determines who you really are?
Anyone could give because they know they're getting but isn't it the person who can give for the true act of giving that is truly REAL
One for a million, a million for one, either way when love is given without measure for itself that is what love is.  Not to say that we let people purposely hurt us while we love but to love someone even though others took a punch at them that is pure love. To go with the bandwagon of adversity would be weak.  What is the greatest feeling in the world but to be shown as the greatest truth when you took the blows of all those who didn't believe and you still fought through it.  Martin Luther King was imprisoned 22 times while he had every right violated and he was as right as right can be.  Isn't this why he is considered great?  Isn't it the battles against naysayers that show greatness?  I AM A CHAMPION and whether it's realized now or after I'm dead I know I'm a CHAMPION.  Yes, one for a million, or a million against one.  Right is right, truth is truth, love is love, real is real and whether there's a parade today or tomorrow there's a parade in my heart every day.

Beauty is hiding in the seemingly dread filled things
Help me find it now
Is it the way each has taken a position
is it what happens when they do
Is it how this one was affected that way ,and that one another
Is this the play that has shown the emotional spectrum
Can I rise above the play and see what allows every character, every line, every emotion and rather choose to love what showed me the gamut?
Can I hug you for our differences?
Can I know that underneath the actors garment that portrayed that emotion rested a human being I can truly feel
I feel so deeply before every spoken word, before every emotion portrayed
Can all our levels of expectations unfulfilled not consume the greatness that allowed for every expectation in the first place
Is there a person I can touch before we are no longer
Do I have to wait until then to realize I should have touched them?
Can we love in common compassion of life and each other again
Can we be bigger than the next thought or emotion that tries to rule us?

Who is left that cares for what's precious and finds a way?
is there an awareness that allows for love and caring to be expressed?
what ego was more important?
what winning or need to feel better was more important?
funny how the need to rush away from the most important communications distort every communication
always in a hurry to move away from
only to never really completely have what is needed for the right communication
impatient with this, in judgment of that, closing off all feelings after the next determination
all that was missed because of this cell phone or this "appointment" who truly held no self created distraction?
where nothing would have interfered with what should have been held in the highest respect for however long it took?
what was more important than truth expressed and feelings shown?
what deserved making what was precious not a priority?
What will sit there as a stone unturned and a pain to ruminate because a mis-communication was digested as truth when it wasn't.   And love wasn't allowed the path to bloom
and caring wasn't mutually expressed
Funny how the only way I could ever express myself in full is to write a book because nobody involved ever really has the time, patience, open-mindedness and lack of ego and judgment to hear it without changing what it is--being taken away or held in possession of by another to shield what is complete in explaining
so why not expose everything and be without judgment, fear, or the ticking clock
why not make that the most important thing instead of the short fuse, the agenda that makes it unimportant, the hate that ends all communication
Why not love and love with patience, caring, open-mindedness for wasn't there plenty of times where love was needed for you and it was given and given and given some more?
Where is the love?  
Where is the love that has infinite patience to hear and stay with friction until it no longer is?  Where is what is most PRECIOUS?
But the prissy spoile friends say no, and the television personalities say no, and the opinions of others pre-determined yours, and the opinions you chose you are a prisoner of--but why is what is so precious in the overall scheme of things not the most important thing?

Why do feelings take a back seat to situations and dynamics?
Why do feelings get left out because people's weaknesses hurt others?
Why aren't feelings being realized as the biggest thing?
When are the truest feelings allowed to be without emotional immaturity from people of all ages ruling the order of the day?
When can people simply say I was wrong, I made a mistake, I didn't handle things well, I ******* up, I apologize, I was scared, I didn't act right, I'm sorry?
Why is what appears to be "acting right", being the one who looks like they know, being the one who can't show hurt, somehow shown as superior to the one who feels all things, and can say they could have done better, and can say they are hurt?
Why are the truest feelings playing second fiddle to the weaknesses of others?  How could all that would support what is wrong appear as what is right when it wasn't?  Let not what has to be supported to accommodate a situation gone wrong and wrongly supported by the powers that be, mislead you into confusion and second guessing of your truest feelings.   You know what happened.  You know the truth. You know how horrible the mistake that was made was and is.  It's isn't being properly admitted to.  Some admit it by not admitting it because they can't.  They instead do things that show apology.  Unfortunately for those who felt deeply all along the misdirection there is no consolation for the time lost.  You are more right and smarter than you are being led to believe.  You are right in looking for an I'm sorry that you're not getting, and looking for deep regret that you're not getting, and looking for correction that didn't come for so long.  You validate your heart, your beautiful self, your feelings.  YOUR FEELINGS ARE WHY YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL INSIDE AND OUT.  YOUR FEELINGS ARE WHY.  I LOVE YOUR FEELINGS.

I touched what gives life
and overcame my strife
I found the love inside me with no ones approval
Even if it took their own self admitted removal
My creativity flowed as I fixed my wonderful painting
that others previously looked at and tried to taint it
Number seven of my paintings beautiful and completed
all that ****** them have been deleted
and signed my name to what was now forever
and I wrote a book that no one can sever
never gave up even when naysayers hurt my flight
the book, the paintings, yippee, they are out of sight!!!!
MINE, MINE, MINE, FOREVER
A REPRESENTATION OF ME
NEVER SAY NEVER
The greatest love is You to see

The marks blamed on something, on someone
but why was it me
shooting outwards for the next one to see
It wasn't the other, for her actions go unquestioned
identity deflating words against what was respected
life and growing is hard but this is never mentioned
It was me to blame, I was the one
The one who threw the extra ball, the one who hugged for fun
the one who had love and the love AND THE LOVE
the one who never touched you except when you backed into a shove
the one who stopped all the hurt that came your way the one who stopped her hurt when she issued the pain
why I am the one that was somehow to blame
and would give their own life and would still today
Why I was to blame because I was used for what was needed
why i was to blame when she chose bleeding
I asked why over and over
but to no avail
I was there when she needed me but she wouldn't let me know
why she felt in a way that couldn't be properly dealt
why i was to blame when used and then put away on a shelf
why I was to blame for what her other parent lacked herself
I wonder if they know
the real truth and not just the show
Do they know what I went through
and the pains from every wrong blow
Do they know the lies and injustices
Do they know the real score
Do they know that looks and appearances can truly mislead
they know, they know the faces they can read
they know the memories of all the love given
they know that even the one most trusted can be the one that really needs to be forgiven
lies made to be true by the masses and power
undermining the best in life for friends made sour
convinced to blame you by the person hiding from life's truths
And now the truth finally appears it wouldn't take a sleuth
Your life was misrepresented by a crook
And blood be as it is
Let truth be bigger, let integrity be bigger, let love be bigger
and let the real you be bigger for this is what shines bright
With an unconditional eternal love that will never take a slight

Existing on what's aware and listening
Quiet before speaking and always glistening
Hearing words not spoken when others run a lot
Seeing all that's going on when most are not
She operates on a thin wavelength of beauty
Hard to find for those who are too busy looking
hard to feel for those wanting to wrap her up for a booking
She's precious and sensitive beyond a thought
Beautiful and expanding and will always be sort
Surprises you when you think she couldn't know
Smarter than everyone but she'll never show
Withstanding enemies with her thorns
Staying beautiful and never forlorn
Spectacularly present with unseen pedals
So soft so sweet but of the strongest metal
Always precious, always special, always artistic,
always talented, always the insight, always so deep,
In the face of all that couldn't be wronger
what doesn't **** us makes us stronger
Respecting what's so precious like the morning dew
Congratulations on the glory of YOU

The greatest love of all is inside of you
and that is what will always be true
so let it not feel like the bad has won
when all around us appears to have spun
a web so deep we can barely recover
but love is bigger than anything and ours to rediscover
It's the love inside of you and the love that's given
and not the props of the play
that's what we call living
---a __with no shell thank you

A microcosm of the world was what I would say
and the hurt kept coming in every way
Money religion and all that can divide
it was all used to hurt my pride
Friends, parents, and heritage were to blame
When love is not love  its all the same
Where is the "for better" where is there "for worse"
believing more of what's out there, that's the curse
Lied about, framed, and hurt deeply with neurological drugs
aligning herself with common thugs
Thousands of magical moments they really did bring joys
even though they are  now used for other people's toys
Deep in our hearts they'll never go away
How I love you in every way
I don't care what anybody will say
More Roses from me to you on more of your special days
your are of my greatest gift s in my life and our moments I will always cherish
there are no words, no actions, no charades that can blemish
our bread is buttered today that's what we say
some creativity will find another way
so many things remind me of you
not the worst human being alive deserves what happened in lieu
In my mind I gave more than I ever I could
The drugs made hardened feelings do what they would
stock market losses another reason to blame
moving and changing lost much more just the same
but all the justifiers come out to make sure she disapproved
when all our lives were changed with her horrible moves
when all chances taken were for love and generosity
and all she could see to make her right was animosity
No human being could ever bare to hear the pains I suffered
and to even reveal the truth takes all I have to muster
but the truth is that I would do it all again
if that was the price for you to see
the beauty beyond all attachments and the splendor in thee
Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Socrates, Galileo and more have been jailed
and what were the greatest truths ever and how they later sailed
Unconditionally loving you and that is what will always be in me
and for that I am the luckiest person I can be

Love beyond love that I naturally feel
for a person no words work for
but feelings can't conceal
when in person the experience is real
then the words come and change them to steel
oh you you oughta and it should be this sorta
but I love you so much I love you my ...

All the lies prevailed
and the love sailed
what was left in all the fire
money, judgment, and other desires
To this day I still can't say if all the memories found a way
to reveal the deception, the crime, the legal tricks
vitamins switched with other picks
rich friends playing hurtful man games
loyal wife played seeking other names
a father true, a husband loyal and all commitments she vowed to were spoiled
little ones asked to see
when money, motherhood and friends mislead
someday integrity will be seen by all
in the meantime please don't fall
I love you and sometimes without a rhyme but that's all I need that's just fine.