I Wish I Could

I wish I could throw like Nelson Mandela and sing like Michelangelo;

I wish I could blow like Lucille Ball and free like the mad Karl Rove;

But, mostly, I just wish I could talk like Johnny Cash.

I wish I could scheme like Mazeroski and speak like the Big Man;

I wish I could scream like Frank Sinatra and swing like Julius Caesar;

But, honestly, I just wish I could talk like Johnny Cash.

I wish I could field like Lindsay Vonn and act like Barbara Jordan;

I wish I could waltz like Pablo Picasso and rule like Justin Tucker;

But, actually, I wish I could talk like Johnny Cash.

I wish I could pound like Mario Lemieux and draw like Meryl Streep;

I wish I could win like Mother Teresa and laugh like Keith Moon;

But, most sincerely, I wish I could talk like Johnny Cash.

I wish I could shoot like Fred Astair and serve like Michael Jordan;

I wish I could think like Jerry Garcia and fly like Babe Ruth;

But, humbly, I want to talk like Johnny Cash.

I wish I could skate like Patrick Mahomes and joke like Albert Einstein;

I wish I could paint like Mavis Staples and kick like Tom Brady;

But, for real, I oughta be able to talk like Johnny Cash.

I wish I could write like Jesse Owens and survive like Carol Burnet;

I wish I could run like Vonnegut and pick like Bill Clinton;

But, don’t you think, wouldn’t it be great if I could talk like Johnny Cash?

I never wanted to dance like Rick Perry or Tom DeLay or Sean Spicer;

And I'm glad I don’t lie like Donald Trump or Richard Nixon;

But I really sue-ly do-ly, honestly and truly, wish I could talk sonorous and deep and big, talk just like Johnny Cash.

“How do you do?”

Photo by Heinrich Klaffs/Creative Commons license