-- The Uncluttered Mind --

John Herlihy

My thoughts come random,

They appear out of the blue.

Fleeting, like a shy phantom,

With emotions I never knew.

At times my thoughts light,

Drawn from the blue of sky.

My day’s filter feels bright,

No single question, no why.

At times my thoughts dark,

Lost in a cavernous space.

Brooding like a dim spark,

I no longer can keep apace.

My thoughts can be inspiration,

Their magnetic glow takes me in.

I feel comfortable in this location,

My heart feels filled to the brim.

My thoughts can be temptation,

Bound up by the tentacles of sin.

May this prove but a waystation,

Otherwise, consequences be grim.

Thoughts can behave like a hound,

Panting, out of breath, and urgent.

Thoughts can feel like a thief bound,

Wrapped in feelings of guilt resurgent.

Some days feel like a butterfly or bird,

Seeking for honey in a flower’s heart.

The bird’s song sweetest ever heard,

Those days from which never to part.

All those thoughts are home grown,

Ranging from hope, to desire, to guilt.

I will take possession for what I own,

My river of thoughts gathering silt.

All those thoughts never last too long,

They disappear as quickly as they arrive.

They have their moment, sing their song,

Then no longer have a right to survive.

Indeed, what does in the mind remain,

When all those idle thoughts disappear?

What is it that will keep me truly sane,

To lie there within that feels truly near.

Silence as a stranger that I feel I know,

That extends a hand to help me endure.

Peaceful contentment to fill me like snow,

The uncluttered mind now feeling as pure.

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(c) John Herlihy 16 August 2019