If... Poem by David L. Hatton

If you can stay a virgin, while all about you,
Others toy with sex, and play that game without you;
If tempted just as friends are on the campus scene,
You don’t give in, but keep your heart and body clean;
If you can listen through the cry for lustful love
And heed the voice of Him who fashioned sex above;
If you can see past shapely form or face or fame
And learn to treat the other gender each the same;
If you can “just be friends” on every single date,
Remaining pure and loyal for your future mate;
If you can find “that one, ” but wait to go to bed,
Until your vows are made and you are truly wed;
If, in that sweet embrace of married love, you find
A bitter taste, but keep your words and actions kind;
If, when the new wears off and other eyes attract,
You’re wise enough to stay within your wedding pact;
Of if you fall in love with someone else so deep,
But won’t betray that partner-friend with whom you sleep;
If romance seems to cool, and health and beauties fade,
Yet you stay faithful in the promises you’ve made;
If you keep channels open, always talk and share,
And dig for treasures in the heart for whom you care;
If, through your years together, you can learn to pray
And face your storms and trials side by side each day;
And if by self-denying love you guard that spouse
And change your dwelling to a home, not just a house;
Then yours, my friend, is victory in the sexual quest,
And what is more, you will have marriage at its best!

(2/25/87 - from Poems Between Heaven and Hell)