-- Descent and Return --

­­John Herlihy

Seeking innocence, there it is,

In a new country of the soul.

Shimmering in shadowy light,

Darkness bespeckled in stars.

In childhood, to think wisely,

In old age, to think childlike.

With a face of heavenly calm,

With eyes that behold angels.

They speak not when we ask,

Their smile beams their answer.

Seeking pleasure, there it is,

Just beyond the opened door.

Mouth-watering in temptation,

Savoring every physical sensation.

Pleasure’s mirror reflects displeasure,

In the ebb and flow of inevitability.

Displeasure found in excess of fulness,

Pleasure found in treasured emptiness.

Pleasure a feeling kept under control,

Displeasure from what our greed stole.

Seeking happiness, there it is,

Discovered in another country.

Shimmering as a distant mirage,

Beyond the edge of the horizon.

Approaching near, receding far,

Its ebb and flow as inevitable.

My aspiration, alas my hope,

Flowing phases of the moon.

A dream awaiting a reality,

In infant innocence found.

Seeking freedom, there it is,

Lost in an alien foreign country.

A silhouette in the light of slavery,

Golden shield in the light of bravery.

Loss of freedom in our fears chained,

An inability to act freely remained.

By the chains of indecision bound,

In the river of compromise found.

Freedom a battle never to be won,

Til truth is father to freedom’s son.

Seeking peace, there it is,

Found in a utopian country.

In the hushed descent of snow,

Falling adrift as the wind did blow.

Contentment that makes no mockery,

Embraces truth and its elusive mystery.

To sleep on a bed of straw as nightbirds sing,

To listen as church bells in the twilight ring.

The serenity of grass, blade by blade,

Resting on a summer’s day in the shade.

Seeking quiet hours, there they are,

Found in an age-old country.

My ambitions flown away in the wind,

All success and fame lost in the hours.

Tucked in bed listening to the rain,

As moonglow streams across the plain.

A stillness has settled into my head,

All mistrust and carelessness have fled.

While in my heart a peacefulness will grow,

To wear a crown even kings never know.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Thursday 14 October 2021