-- The Dilemma of Happiness --

John Herlihy

We all know the darkening cloud of sorrow.

Who hasn’t suffered the sinking pit of despair?

The endless torment of chronic, terminal pain,

The nagging worries and fears of sure failure.

What of those we encounter who are blessed;

Their colors bright, the eyes and face perfectly lit.

They go about with a freedom only God can offer;

As if only they have the right to a perfect happiness.

Ah, that elusive word happiness and all it entails;

Isn’t that the one thing that we all secretly covet?

There in the wings of our lives, the wind to our sails,

As we struggle thru the labyrinth of life’s challenges.

In wishing for happiness, what is it that we want?

What is it that merely slips through our fingers?

The wealth, beauty and talent of others that taunt.

The sad truth of jealousy and the envy that lingers.

Until the day arrives when happiness knocks on our door;

The stranger in our midst who acts as if a friend.

We feel as startled birds all aflutter, ready to adore;

May this sublime feeling and its breezy feathers never end.

A happiness so rich it seems more than I deserve;

Such happiness never asked for, imagined, or desired.

Knowing full well these feelings impossible to preserve;

As if donning an ermine cloak for a brief moment so attired.

The perennial dilemma of happiness will show its face,

Manifests briefly as it swiftly slips through our grasp.

No doubt, one of the enduring mysteries of the human race,

A mystery from time immemorial that will ever hold fast.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Saturday 12 June 2021