Joy In A Changing World Poem by Patrick William Kavanagh

Why does sadness overtake me when there is so much cause for joy,
And how can I be joyful in a world that is so filled with tears,
Do I close my eyes to all the pain and deprivation, just walk quickly by,
Can I be deaf to the wailing of the children of the world,
And just press my hands against my ears.
I do not know.

As a child I used to wonder why, some people lived a long and happy life and others had to die.
All the talk of heaven and of hell, I really couldn't understand,
If God was Love, no matter who you were, He'd simply take your hand,
and take you to his palace in the sky,
How could he let a sinner burn forever for some little misdemeanour’s, or a little lie.
I do not know.

I we choose this life we live, and we are gods in flesh, it makes a little sense,
But sometimes not enough to balance out the pain and sorrow that I see,
I have seen the future and have spoken to departed spirits,
yet sometimes I doubt this world is all I wish that it could be.
How this mess will ever sort itself is just a mystery to me,
I've read a thousand books and and prayed a million prayers, but still,
I do not know.

Yet a quiet voice inside me, says that all is for the best and so I carry on and face my tests,
What else am I do do, for I am here and Life is still a gift,
I believe that we must bear each other up, until the day that truth will be revealed.
And until the coming of that day, I must confess,
I do not know.