-- What Is the Good --

John Herlihy

What is the good of feathers,

If there are no birds with wings?

What is the good of a song,

If no one is there who sings.

What is the good of wings,

If someone takes away the sky?

What is the good of love,

If no love there on which to rely?

What is the good of a forest,

If there are not thriving trees?

What is the good of a beehive,

If there are no bumblebees?

What is the good of happiness,

If all it is turns out fleeting?

What is the good of sadness,

If it gives us such a beating?

What is the good of trust,

If it ends as a broken promise?

What is the good of compassion,

If it offers so little solace?

What is the good of words,

If they are only empty, heartless?

What is the good of poems,

If they are only barren, soulless?

What is the good of hope.

If it never becomes a reality?

What is the good of a dream,

If it only remains a mystery?

We know there is good,

But what is the good of it?

If it merely wears a hood,

It never reveals its true spirit.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Tuesday 23 February 2021