Above my head and beyond my hand,
I could see a door in the wall
If I stood on my toes and stretched my arm
I was still a little too small.
So I set a ladder just under the door
And I climbed to the top to try
But I still came short and missed my aim
For the knob was still too high.
I stacked up bricks on wooden blocks
And the latter atop a chair
But even that was not enough
And I grabbed a fist of air.
I tried to climb the remaining space
But the wall was smooth and I slipped.
And I clutched at the air as I fell
But everything broke that I gripped.
The room blurred as I hit the floor,
And yet suddenly I could see,
What I wanted most, I could not claim
It was just too high for me.
I laid in the dark with the door above,
And confessed what I knew was true,
"I've come short of my goal and I know
That is what I am bound to do.
For I've cheated myself out everything,
I've wasted the time I could grow.
I've stunted the height of my intelect,
The door is a dream I can't know."