-- Hoping and Wishing --

John Herlihy

The emotions of poetry all feel as if true ,

Drawn from the experiences we ever knew.

The poet stirs feeling with words that touch,

To fall in strangers’ hearts and inspire much.

Our lives have nuances that can seem false,

Something goes wrong to increase the pulse.

Sad turns sadder when it seems perfectly real,

Holy becomes holier as I bow down and kneel.

The mind reckons calculations and lists reasons,

The heart prepares us for each and all seasons.

Disappointment has a way of filling our grove,

We take no ownership and keep on the move.

Some make jokes of hardship and just have fun,

Others try to escape themselves, stay on the run.

Then there is the pernicious impulse we call guilt,

That runs thru the river of our lives gathering silt.

Wishing to undue the nasty things we have done,

Wishing to be held in perpetuity as a tapestry hung.

We forget all the words with the power to clarify,

Until we finally begin to behave in ways that sanctify.

Hoping and wishing that our destiny will come true ,

In a manner in keeping with all that we ever knew.

To create life that makes real our hopes and dreams,

To restore our cracks and crevices with moonbeams.

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(c) John Herlihy 16 June 2019