-- THE VIRTUE OF TWO EXTREMES --

John Herlihy

For every goodbye there has been a hello,

Just as every head finds an end with a toe.

For every hello there comes a final goodbye,

The smiling mouth becomes a breathy sigh.

For every successful hit there is a sad miss,

Bad girls slap, but a good one leaves a kiss.

In every bright sunrise lies promise of sunset,

In every true hope lies a potential for regret.

For every middle we can find two extremes,

One can’t happen without the other it seems.

Two extremes have virtues not to be ignored,

Each of them in their own way rightly adored.

Who has not experienced two halves of the coin,

Only a middle road allows the two ends to rejoin.

The weight of the scale will tell us what to know,

What is up, what is down, the balance will show.

The haves and the have-nots with extended hand,

One hand open, the other pointed as a reprimand.

Lest we forget the plight of the rich and the poor,

The one seems certain, the other seeks to endure.

Some things are right; other things are wrong,

The mouth produces either a frown or a song.

Some facts can be false, while others are true ,

Our ignorance only belies everything we knew.

Every happiness brings corresponding sorrow,

We lament yesterday but yearn for tomorrow.

Sadness often lingers and at our hearts tear,

God does not give us more than we can bear.

In every true stranger lies a potential friend,

The virtue of fidelity will flourish in the end.

Success beams bright but what did we learn,

Failure offers a goal towards which we yearn.

Then there is the mystery of desire and regret,

One tries to remember, the other tries to forget.

Light vs darkness, what’s white without black,

We go it alone otherwise we run with the pack.

Most of us prefer to walk the middle of the road,

Some take to the swamps, adventurous as a toad.

Give me the extremes and I will give you an idea,

Not one without the other, a double-ended spear.

You cannot have one extreme without the other,

They go hand in hand as though sister and brother.

At the heart of two extremes lies the true center,

Between the brain and heart lies our true mentor.

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(c) John Herlihy 20 March 2019