-- Only Silence Seemed Honest --

John Herlihy

A tongue’s narrow path had no way,

To express what the heart had to say.

He had never truly loved until now,

Love always eluded him somehow.

Love uttered blithely as only a word,

The mere chirping of a random bird.

Shoved around but not ever touched,

Seen here and about; never watched.

Then the heavy stone lying in his heart,

A stone that from him never to depart.

Suddenly came alive; burst into flame,

The nameless had now taken on a name.

In the sheer darkness of his lonely night,

Brief flicker of hope, brief flicker of light.

In his mouth, love words fell out as stones,

Rough syllables in the language of bones.

No words of true love there to be spoken,

An eternal silence waiting to be broken.

New-found love had stolen away his voice,

Only in the cave of mind could he rejoice.

The love too awesome the lover to greet,

Love far too large for him, far too sweet.

Two turtle doves now settled in their nest,

In happiness, only silence seemed honest.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Thursday 25 November 2021