-- Ode to Emptiness –
John Herlihy
Emptiness not just a prerogative of the dark night,
Lengthening shadows in silhouette of the dying light.
Emptiness often heightened in the bright light of day,
The shadows against the light have so much to say.
Thinking of emptiness often makes us feel strange,
Desert emptiness, its broad expanse of open range.
The emptiness in a conversation when no one speaks,
The fearful emptiness of a house when a door squeaks.
Emptiness makes us desire the empty space be filled,
A way to see emptiness that leads to being fulfilled.
A way to fill the emptiness by knowing what is there,
A way to unveil the secret that emptiness can share.
What may our solitude be without emptiness to endure,
The feeling of enrichment even if one is technically poor.
The reality of being alone offers contentment made real,
Our solitude made into a thief a sense of peace to steal.
What is absolute silence but emptiness painted golden,
Silence that speaks volumes, a sense of peace beholden.
Outward speech speaks of time, silence speaks of eternity,
In the silence of outer space lies the fulness of mystery.
Who will ever forget the silence heard in the dead of night,
Filling up the darkness with all the luminosity of moonlight.
Night’s shroud cast over half the earth, leaving it empty,
While the feeble starlight lends its sense of mystical plenty.
An eerie emptiness pervades the vast expanse of oceans,
Yet a subtle moodiness prevails filled with inspired notions.
Beneath the surface of the deep lie worlds unfathomable,
Across the breath of waters flows blithe spirit unimaginable.
In the silence of the drum lies an emptiness laid bare,
Its rhythms now mute, a well-earned repose fills the air.
Yet in the stillness of the drum lie reverberations wanted,
Readiness for the beating of the drum’s heart as if haunted.
Oh, simply give me an emptiness that is waiting to be filled,
Ever patiently waiting as the heart lies waiting to be stilled.
Truth to tell, in emptiness lies the secret of its great potential,
Without it, nothing can be filled with all those things essential.
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Copyright ©John Herlihy
Wednesday 9 March 2022
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Rebecca
You made me remember my empty house after my ex-wife left and took all of her furniture. It wasn't until five years later when I got mine in Atlanta and brought it to fill the empty rooms. And that night in 1960 when it was about 20° below zero and the sky was much closer, but felt much further away. Finally, arriving at Dubai airport around noon. Aside from our 747 and a terminal in brilliant white looking like a futuristic building out of Star Wars, nothing but flat overheated sand every direction to infinity where it joined a brilliant blue, cloudless sky.
Ron