Calmly: Feelings

Pleasant feelings
Are so sweet,
But they don’t stay
They are so fleet of foot.

There’s no use mourning
Their imminent departure,
For then we miss out
On the rapture.

It’s best to be with them
While they’re present,
Like close friends
We enjoy them while we have them.

But the same can be said
For other emotions:
We can learn to make room for
And welcome all of them.

Even though we may find some unpleasant,
Others barely come to our attention:
We fail to notice them
Unless they grow in intensity.

Other feelings can be so extreme
They can bewilder,
Make us shudder and shiver,
But then suddenly disappear.

Emotions are as short-lived
As sunsets and sunrises;
Like chalk sidewalk paintings,
They are washed away when the rain arrives.

Pleasant feelings don’t last,
But luckily
Unpleasant ones don’t either; however,
You can’t have one kind without the other.