-- LASTING BEAUTY --

John Herlihy

We easily see that beauty never lasts,

The bud blooms but never holds fast.

A beauty now lost in petals still folded,

To wither and die as if by night scolded.

Beauty has a season and then is gone,

Lost in the echo of notes from a song.

A sadness lies in beauty as a fatal gift,

Known never to last, our hearts to uplift.

A youthful child shines amazing grace,

Later an ancient parchment as a face.

The beauty of dawn soon loses its glow,

Twilight hush will bring darkness in tow.

Such beauty in moments we feel content,

Hopeful thoughts of what we truly meant.

Beauty lies quietly in a tear and a smile,

They have their moment, lasting a while.

We consider beauty as a cloak wearable,

Only to realize beauty can be unbearable.

A brief momentary glimpse of new reality,

That lies beyond our reach there in eternity.

A road to the heart not found in intellects.

No one ever quarrels of beauty in sunsets.

 We find beauty in everything, even pain.

Beauty strikes sharp so truth will remain.

Is not beauty of dawn washed with dew?

Silence aroused by the voice of wind blew.

A beauty of spirit as seen thru the senses,

View other worlds without our preferences.

Beauty can be merciless, will never forgive.

Its perfection astounds, drawn thru a sieve.

Beauty paints pictures of evening and morn.

Beauty lies in the shape of the face to adorn.

Love may be ill-defined, but inspires my wit,

While beauty in deep recesses of the heart sit.

Love exalts itself in the passions of the mind,

Yet beauty stirs blood with fire of another kind.

An excuse for eyes, they are made for seeing,

While beauty offers its own excuse for being.

Our eyes roam at random thru the meadow.

Beauty surrounds the flowers as their halo.

Roses on a windowsill take my breath away.

The beauty soon gone; its truth here to stay.

Ah, the beauty of the world is but skin deep.

The beauty of spirit makes our souls weep.

The beauty of a butterfly or a snowflake.

They fly, they float, they mystery create.

We find beauty within us as lasting peace,

In the Abiding Spirit that will never cease.

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(c) John Herlihy 24 October 2019