-- Sometimes I Feel Sad --

by John Herlihy

Sometimes I feel sad without any due reason,

Appearing out of nowhere whatever the season.

A quiet sadness that settles in like a gentle mist,

Memories that return of a person sorely missed.

A great effort expended with very little return,

Once fire now smoldering embers with little burn.

What about the seasons when they finally end,

That arouse mixed feelings to blur and blend.

Joy in summer’s happiness gives way to sorrow,

Long hours of day must surrender to tomorrow.

Not just summer but the quiet serenity of winter,

Suddenly gone, making spring feel as callous stinter.

Sad, spring rains that wash winter’s beauty away,

Winter dies a death with spring trees on display.

A time for happiness and a time for melancholy,

What triggers these varied emotions a mystery.

Sweet memory allows sadness to become glad,

As loss and time allow happiness to become sad.

Sadness not as a sorrow, but only as heaviness,

Not as a stranger but as a friend, in soulfulness.

Born of an old memory and of things long gone,

A long-lost melody continues to sing lyrical song.

Sweet sadness, your face now seems truly plain,

In my heart you have settled, quietly you remain.

Voices in the darkness as breath of a cassia tree,

Whispering of joy and sorrow, sadness and glee.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Sunday 16 February 2025