Don Blanding

When, if Ever

When blood is water; when the call of spring Falls dully on my ears; when everything Is just one heavy monotone of gray And dawn’s a torture, meaning "here’s a day To live in weary waiting for the night With sleep to blot all beauty from my sight"; When tears and love and laughter are the same; When life’s a task and not a joyous game; When living’s but a race without a goal; When I am old in body, heart, and soul; When all I know as me in me has fled; Then, and then only, will I say, "God Pan is dead!"