This poem is dedicated to Kathleen McDonald who is now battling her way through a serious illness. May she get well soon.

Holding On
By John Herlihy

Sometimes, we need to let go in order to hold on;
Sometimes, we need to take a breath to move on.
A voice echoes within that we never heard before;
The rusty hinges begin to creek on the open door.
Our destiny has a way of taking an unwanted turn;
A clear, crisp morning can darken on news to spurn.

Clouds have the power to block the sun;
A trick of words stumbles upon a silly pun.
A veil shrouds our mind blocking the beauty in our eyes;
A moody presence takes over with its fearsome lies.
An invisible hand has the power to move the trees;
Instead, the wind in the willows is what one sees.

Ghosts gather unexpectedly in the blackest night,
Hoping to scare us individually into a frenzied fright.
Bad news crawls over the horizon to blankly stare,
Slipping into our mind and heart a thing difficult to bear.
The news mingles with our destiny in the sea of our souls,
As we tiptoe delicately at the edges of the sea’s shoals.

A sudden attack or dreaded illness comes to echo death;
The forewarning alone is enough to take away our breath.
Now wandering on a patch of dusty road and crying out;
A heart full of emotion suddenly reduced to a single shout.
Even if my every step turns into the beating of a drum,
I will hold on to myself from now until kingdom come.