There once was a girl,

just like you and I,

who laughed and played all day.

But she grew up,

and she got a job;

“she’s too old for play”, they’d say.

Now she’s old,

she’s just retired, in fact,

and she’ll soon turn to clay.

And yet all she wants to do,

one last time,

is have fun and play. 

This girl lives in our hearts,

lonely but cheerful,

almost lost in the fray.

Soon she will leave us,

for we too are almost “too old”,

and the only thing she can’t do is stay.

Only once she is gone is her worth discovered,

and is her loss felt,

as we call after her in dismay.

No matter how much you cry,

no matter how much you ask for her back,

she will never obey.

Once lost, she will never return.

So you simply must not lose her.

Never let her go on her way.