Now Broken
By John Herlihy

Once whole, now broken;
Life’s mirror reflects a thousand pieces.
Once meaningful, the world’s token;
The light of the mirror now ceases.

Once whole, now broken;
Our lives once vocal, now unspoken.
How can we make the pieces whole,
Scattered as they are across life’s atoll.

Once whole, now broken;
Earth once reflected in the eternal mirror.
Now shattered into billions of atoms;
No one on earth rightly fathoms.

Once whole, now broken;
The truth known as one truth.
Now a thousand shattered truths,
We only cling to our own truth.

Once whole, now broken;
The heart beats as one,
Now shattered completely undone,
Broken on shallow dreams we cleverly spun.

Once whole, now broken;
The day’s rays bow to twilight.
The flickering light of dusk
Are soon extinguished in a dark hush.

Once whole and never broken;
The soul always remains whole.
A tabula rasa as a puzzle filled rife,
The jumbled pieces fit together as a life.