MIRROR POEMS

-- Waiting for Patience –

John Herlihy

I had to learn to wait in patience,

I never waited for the patience in me.

I didn’t know the meaning of the word,

Always in a rush, waiting seemed absurd.

Waiting patiently held a two-edged sword,

Striking in the mind a disharmonious cord.

Impatience only stirs restlessness in the breast,

Like birdlings waiting for their mother in the nest.

With impatience, we may get quicker what we will,

Only to find out our haste turned into a bitter pill.

Impatience seizes our minds as it takes control,

Any sense of contentment our impatience stole.

Impatience makes heavier what weight we feel,

Whereas patience garners the strength of steel.

-- Patient Waiting –

John Herlihy

I have learned to wait in patience,

And in waiting, patience waits for me.

Waiting and patience a two-edged sword,

Each nurtures the other in harmonious accord.

At times no real choice, the waiting is dutiful,

But that doesn’t preclude waiting as beautiful.

He who has patience will end having what he will,

The heart beats steady, all sense of rush made still.

Things happen according to their own sense of time,

And even if they don’t happen, my destiny is mine.

There is something to be said for calm acceptance,

Rather than rushing into the fray on false pretense.

With a thing worth waiting for, I wait until the end,

The act of waiting patiently will its own virtue lend.

- - - - - -

Copyright © John Herlihy

Sunday 5 September 2021