MIRROR POEMS
-- The Never-ending Day --
John Herlihy
Just below the North Pole, in Iceland,
Daylight of summer’s day goes on forever.
The sun brilliant shining all the time,
How glorious such everlasting wonder.
Eternity woven into threads of light,
Until there rose up this feeling of misery.
No precious dawn, no crimson sunset,
No battle, no dying day, no birth of night.
The eternity of day, relentless to endure,
Always wishing, always waiting for day’s end.
Edge of night, always wishing, always waiting,
Always thinking of night as at us the day stares.
Night a comfort after unending passage of day,
Day’s fullness aroused by night’s emptiness.
Enchanting darkness, glow of moonlight, stars.
-- The Never-ending Night --
John Herlihy
Just below the North Pole, in Iceland,
Darkness of winter’s night goes on forever.
The plate of darkness brooding all the time,
How dreadful this everlasting scourge.
Eternity woven into the threads of darkness,
A feeling of misery all pervasive, stone cold.
No precious dawn, no crimson sunset,
No battle, no dying day, no budding birth.
The eternity of night, relentless to endure,
Always wishing, always waiting for night’s end.
Edge of day, always wishing, always waiting,
Always thinking of day as at us night stares.
Day a comfort after the long passage of night,
Night’s emptiness arouses the day’s fullness.
The breath of day breathing white light of day,
- - - - - -
Copyright ©John Herlihy
Sunday 1 August 2021
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In this mirror poem, you focus on Iceland that was settled about 800 A.D. by hardy Norsemen seeking new lands. While their animals did not thrive with those conditions, they eventually did. But the Inuit people have lived in the Arctic for perhaps, 15,000 years and it is the only life they know.
You are describing the disorientation of people from the temperate zones who go there and find that they cannot sleep in the summer because the sun does not go down and they have what is called "cabin fever" being cooped up in small quarters to conserve fuel all winter. But native Alaskans will tell you that they learn to love the changes in the weather.
Ron