Mirror Poems

-- The Dissatisfaction of Ecstasy –

John Herlihy

Ecstasy has its moment, that no one will deny,

The moment only a moment, another will sigh.

The thrill, after much effort, to reach the peak,

Ignoring who we are to find that which we seek.

The feeling of flight without the benefit of wings,

The wild beating of the heart that in ecstasy sings.

Ecstasy has its moment as with no time to spare,

A feeling of total surrender without a single care.

Bliss arrives at the station, yet readies to depart,

Such highs never linger, we know from the start.

Just as good and evil reside here on earth below,

So bliss lies upon the border of the land of woe.

The brush with sheer happiness makes us blind,

Profound satisfaction a temporary state of mind.

In the wake of ecstasy, a feeling of dissatisfaction,

The pearl of great price exposed as imperfection.

-- The Ecstasy of Satisfaction –

John Herlihy

Satisfaction has moments, that no one will deny,

These moments but moments, another will sigh.

The quiet stillness that results in a job well done,

The realization the effort worth a game well won.

Satisfaction has no mountain highs, reaching peaks,

Only true contentment of reaching what one seeks.

No soulful shouts, valiant cries, no blinding ecstasy,

The bud opens into a flower, therein the mystery.

The dung beetle rolls its dung ball up a graded hill,

The satisfaction lies in the doing, fulfilling one’s will.

No matter how often the beetle makes its journey,

No matter how often day breaks as one stormy.

A willful beetle in its effort finds no bereavement,

Only budding ecstasy in the way it finds achievement.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Saturday 2 April 2022