N.B
One day Solomon decided to humble his most trusted minister.
He said to him, "There is a certain ring that I want you to bring to me. I give you six months to find it."
"If it exists anywhere on earth, your majesty," replied he, "I will find it and bring it to you, but what makes the ring so special?"
"It has magic powers," answered the king. "If a happy man looks at it, he becomes sad, and if a sad man looks at it, he becomes happy."
Solomon knew that no such ring existed in the world, but he wished to give his minister a little taste of humility. Spring passed and then summer, and still the minister had no idea where he could find the ring. On the night before Sukkot, he decided to take a walk in one of the poorest quarters of Jerusalem. He passed by a merchant who had begun to set out the day's wares on a shabby carpet.
"Have you by any chance heard of a magic ring that makes the happy wearer forget his joy and the broken-hearted wearer forget his sorrows?" asked he.
He watched the grandfather take a plain gold ring from his carpet and engrave something on it. When he read the words on the ring, his face broke out in a wide smile. That night the entire city welcomed in a holiday with great festivity.
"Well, my friend," said Solomon, "have you found what I sent you after?"
All the ministers laughed and Solomon himself smiled. To everyone's surprise, the minister held up a small gold ring and declared, "Here it is, your majesty!" As soon as Solomon read the inscription, the smile vanished from his face. The jeweler had written the words "This too shall pass." At that moment Solomon realized that all his wisdom and fabulous wealth and tremendous power were but fleeting things, for one day he would be nothing but dust.
We could have walked with our toes in the sand,
We could have danced with moonlight on our head,
We could have drove for hours with no destination,
Made love on the beach in some tropical location.
We could have ate at your favourite restaurant,
We could have laughed at the movie theater,
We could have walked through the park hand in hand,
I would have kissed you to the mellow sounds of that one jazz band.
Goodbye.
Too late.
We could have done it all.
He never knew just how I felt,
He should just have been clearer,
Because by then I was sitting in another car,
Looking back at him in the rearview mirror.
A Special World
A special world for you and me
A special bond one cannot see
It wraps us up in its cocoon
And holds us fiercely in its womb.
Its fingers spread like fine spun gold
Gently nestling us to the fold
Like silken thread it holds us fast
Bonds like this are meant to last.
And though at times a thread may break
A new one forms in its wake
To bind us closer and keep us strong
In a special world, where we belong.
- Sheelagh Lennon -