- All the Days –

By John Herlihy

- - - - -

There are days when I just feel empty,

At a loss for what I need.

Other days when I just feel full,

Days when I finally succeed.

There are days when I leave a part of myself behind,

No longer wanted or needed.

Other days when I have duties of another kind,

Things in my garden to be weeded.

There are days when I need to escape,

To flee myself and the world.

Other days when I feel as a sketch to remake,

To be myself, as a banner unfurled.

There are days that upon rising seem so imperfect,

Uncertain, lonely, in need of a hug.

Other days that seem simply perfect,

Every step under my feet feels like a Persian rug.

There are days when the earth smells of perfume,

To fill my soul with heavenly scent.

Other days when terrible premonitions would loom,

To fill my soul wherever I went.

There are days when I feel filled with winter chill,

My mind brittle to easily break.

Other days when I feel summer’s warmth still,

Its rich blessing does my soul’s thirst slake.

There are days when I feel as light as a feather,

Everyone I greet as a loving paramour.

Other days when I feel exposed to foul weather,

As if wearing a rusty suit of armour.

There are days when the wind is low, the sun high,

The air is full of birdsong.

Other days when I feel I have finally arrived,

At a place where I belong.

Some days and hours but moments to despise,

To sit alone and weep.

Other days and hours readily fill our lives,

Moments to preserve and keep.

To see suffering made beautiful, paid for dearly,

To see Heaven as we see the world, oh so clearly.

- - - - - -

(c) John Herlihy November 2018