Of Virtue and Vice
By John Herlihy

The virtues are fine, so far as they go;
They cloak with wit the deeds we sow.
Guided suitably by Nature’s firm hand,
We see fair value in every single brand.
If sincerity or honesty they claim to be,
Each wears the divine seal for all to see.

We humans fare fine, so far as we go;
We know we reap whatever we sow.
Heaven may produce a noisy thunder,
Humans may seek the earth to plunder.
Every person must make their own way;
One finds mercy, another may find dismay.

A couple of examples should amply suffice,
To show the difference of humans and mice.
Sincerity stands noble, so far as it goes;
It speaks only truth as everyone knows.
But is that enough, if truth be told,
Sincerity may lack courage, if I may be bold.

Courtesy is gallant when it enters a room,
A courtier by name, expectant as a groom,
Awaiting the virtues of its enchanting bride,
Insisting that all rudeness simply step aside.
But do we prize sincerity more than courtesy,
They both embellish us with their fine diversity.

A den of iniquity may contain honest thieves;
One person may change the way we perceive,
How vice functions, what goes into its weave.
A drop of atonement may enter the unholy fray,
To offer up remorse with a sorry word to say,
As clouds give their way to the sun day by day.

The vices stack up on each other one by one;
The virtues co-mingle as threads in cloth spun.
Vice has a way of painting everything black,
Filling our lives with the soot of a smoke stack.
Virtue has a way of painting everything white,
It seeks out the heart where it wishes to alight,
With a bouquet of virtues to brighten the night.