-- Sadness That Isn’t Sad --

John Herlihy

Not all sadness can be considered sad,

Some sadnesses can make me feel glad.

An old friend now gone still fills my heart,

A sense of missing that will never depart.

Certain sadnesses never even bring a tear,

Such emotion will only the memory smear.

Sadness gives the right to feel melancholy,

A false happiness would be but sheer folly.

The grand sweep of life but blink of an eye,

Rushing sands of the hourglass utter a sigh.

Where have all those days and nights gone,

The sweet voice of a child still sings its song.

A loving mother that lingers as a sad memory,

A beloved father with his noble air of mystery.

All the sad memories of things we have lost,

The price we pay for gladness comes at a cost.

Yet even certain sad memories induce a thrill,

All the Christmases past that I remember still.

As Marley’s ghost, the child in me offers a wink,

Before disappearing in the past, gone in a blink.

Sweet memory brings on a sadness not sad,

Our sweet memory resurrects a sadness glad.

Twinkling lights, a pine tree, the infant babe,

Thru a misty grain of memory again to wade.

A veil has been lifted and suddenly I remember,

Falling snow, a decorated tree, a burning ember.

Milk and cookies for Santa, carrots for the reindeer,

And within my aging heart, sweet memory’s spear.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Wednesday 22 December 2021