-- EMOTIONS –

John Herlihy

Below the surface deep feelings we endure,

Finding their way amid shadows and light.

A wealth of enriching feelings, deep, pure,

Seasoning our perceptions by day and night.

Whether they are plentiful or scarce,

Our emotions never expressed in vain.

Especially love, so singular and so rare,

That breathes into life its joy and pain.

Conflicting emotions stored aplenty,

Whether of revenge, regret, remorse.

A boundless cornucopia until empty,

Released into our lives as a spent force.

Whether the emotions crude or sublime,

They live tucked into corners of our heart.

I accept their responsibility as totally mine,

Taking their toll until they finally depart.

Whether these emotions be strength or flaw,

We cannot avoid taking measure of their weight.

Claws marking the soft surface of a cat’s paw,

All of life’s passions sifted thru the soul’s gate.

Some emotions may upon us blinders impose,

Love’s intensity threatens to blur our vision.

Reading braille while the river of our life flows,

Every moment our humanity makes a decision.

We finally learn to keep our emotions in check,

Caution follows in the face of the wind’s gale.

To steer clear of dangers that lead to a wreck,

Riding the wind as it billows our ship’s sail.

A dearth of feelings would make my life poor,

They awaken the mind within the body’s shell.

A thousand melodies into our tender hearts pour,

All their passions, sorrows and mysteries to tell.

Birds sing sweetly, but some sing out of tune,

So with humans, our feelings not always sublime.

Along the path of our lives as rough stones strewn,

Some feelings deadly while other feelings benign.

In the end, our feelings mature as an aging wine,

We overcome suffering as we overcome despair.

Placing their wisdom into our hearts to enshrine,

Feelings sacred and ennobling as heart-felt prayer.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Friday 1 July 2022