-- ON BEING ORDINARY –

John Herlihy

I take delight in being ordinary,

Not needing to be extraordinary.

The famous must live to an image,

I but an individual on pilgrimage.

A journeyer on the open road,

In quiet search of my final abode.

Although I may stumble on the way,

My destiny will always have final say.

No need for success in being ambitious,

To always want more like the avaricious.

My happiness lies not in things external,

My contentment drawn from the internal.

True, in the end, we will all give account,

But I need not explain any undue amount.

Happy with less without expecting more,

Having more for more’s sake I do abhor.

Being ordinary arouses no expectation,

No false pretense to rise above my station.

I have no need to succumb to any pressure,

Whenever I can, I offer others a kind gesture.

At times step out of myself, see the big picture,

When I need any guidance, I read sacred scripture.

I do what needs to be done without delay,

When I begin and end my day, I kneel to pray.

Being ordinary does have its compensations,

So long as my roots seek out secure foundations.

The garden filled with a multitude of flowers,

Ordinary forest trees grow into lofty towers.

Truth to tell, being ordinary, I never feel tired,

Going about my business, I often feel inspired.

To be true to myself, isn’t that ordinary?

To be false to myself, isn’t that extraordinary?

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Monday 1 August 2022