-- For Once and Always –

John Herlihy

Some things happen only once,

But endure forever and always.

Its weight only a single ounce,

More luminous than light rays.

For once and always,

A remembrance that forever stays;

A road taken amid multiple other ways.

For once and always,

As eagles fly over soaring mountains;

As sparrows bathe in flowing fountains.

For once and always,

One precious moment fervent and sound;

One singular moment utterly profound.

For once and always,

Water lilies painted in a pond;

Making eternal what the painter Monet was fond.

For once and always,

The first time I opened my inner eyes;

The grey of cloudy days, the blue of skies.

For once and always,

The lesson I learned from my first mistake;

The blessing I received, only once to partake.

For once and always,

The day touched by someone, affecting a cure;

A lifted uncertainty, finally to feel sure.

For once and always,

Final payment on a long, lingering debt;

In the hot, dry desert, rains made the land wet.

For once and always,

A first love, as ever the first to endure;

A true love, as ever the one truly pure.

For once and always,

Approaching the end, I feel content;

In the end, I know what my life meant.

For once and always

The river of my being now slow and steady;

My being and its river now calm and ready.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Saturday 14 May 2022