-- A Gentle Soul --
John Herlihy
Rare the individual with a gentle soul,
Who appreciates the needs of others whole.
To go through life as if everything to miss,
To take notice of others with nothing amiss.
The gentle soul walks in other people’s shoes,
Feels their suffering and understands their blues.
With the right emotion, he knows what it takes,
To soothe the frayed feelings that misery creates.
The animals of the jungle gather at his feet,
Their native souls eager this human soul to greet.
Infants looks his way and hold him in their glance,
Birds alight on his finger as if feeling romance.
No burden too heavy that he cannot bear,
His sympathy and wisdom always feel as a prayer.
If someone dies, he will say just the right thing,
To any difficult situation, he will insight bring.
The light of the gentle soul luminous, pure,
All the vicissitudes of the world to endure.
Slowly, he walks thru twilight into the night,
Until there in the distance he mirrors starlight.
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Copyright © John Herlihy
Monday 4 January 2021
Rebecca
This is another masterful rendering.
John B.
Still, those of us in attendance felt obligated either to come over and get an autograph or, in my case, wish to tell my father that I had met him. Recalling back when I was a teenager and my dad, an avid baseball fan, kept talking about this young Hank Aaron doing such great things for the Milwaukee Braves.
Aaron was one of those gentle souls who had tremendous strength in his gentleness while learning of death threats when he dared challenge the great Babe Ruth's accomplishment.
Ron