Like Something Else
By John Herlihy

Everything looks like something else.
That rope seems a corded rattle snake;
The river’s foam a frothy milk shake
The moon has the face of an old man,
Measuring eternal time across life’s span.

Everything behaves like something else.
The bubbles float like birds on wings;
The dragonfly hums like a sparrow that sings;
Fireflies light up like a lighthouse on the strand;
The green canaries chatter pretending to be grand.

Everything seems like something else.
The night wants to steal the light of day;
The day wishes to chase the night away;
The child strives to be father to the man;
The old man longs to be a child once again.

Nothing ever becomes what it sometimes seems,
To betray your true self only your life demeans.