-- The Breakage of Our Lives --

John Herlihy

In the breakage of our lives,

Can be found hidden gems.

A puzzle that when restored,

Into a brighter whole blends.

When the mind breaks,

We say the mind breaks down.

Cracks, fragments, pieces,

How hard to put back together.

When the voice breaks,

The words dashed into pieces.

Floating like dust motes,

Scattered as leaves in the wind.

When emotions break,

They crack like ice in winter.

The sound as the strike of a whip,

Startled birds rise in unison.

When our hope breaks,

The hope fades like mist.

The light of day harsh,

The dark of night stark.

When sorrow breaks open,

The sorrow rises like the moon.

Pale light shining on desolation,

The shadows lengthen and linger.

When time breaks down,

Minutes and hours an eternity.

The present moment as endless,

Patient waiting in the past.

When rhythm breaks its stride,

Balance teetering on the brink.

 Our steps tiptoe along an edge,

Ready to topple, ready to fall.

When a relationship breaks,

The bond is torn asunder.

We are fragile, we are human,

We are pieces of cracked glass.

When the heart doth break,

Ah, when the heart finally breaks.

The flood-gates of emotion open,

There the heart lies, empty, broken.

Hit by life’s hammer, fallen down,

Scattered pieces, far and wide.

Finally brought back together,

Only now are we close enough.

In the breakage of our lives,

We humans pick up the pieces.

To become unbreakable glass,

Transparent and pristine clear.

We shadow, we shine,

Shaped by the light let thru.

Nothing lost, nothing missed,

Put together again, as if kissed.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Wednesday 2 February 2022