Book Readers Heaven: Poet John Herlihy Visits to Present - A Part of Me and I Never Met the Love I Lost -- Lovely Poetry to Ponder! And One Responsive Poem

Friday, August 1, 2025

Poet John Herlihy Visits to Present - A Part of Me and I Never Met the Love I Lost -- Lovely Poetry to Ponder! And One Responsive Poem

A Part of Me

John Herlihy

When I get an idea

And sit down to write a poem,

I go to that secret place

Where writing poems takes me.

Far from the maddening crowd,

Near to the heart of things.

The door of the mind flung open,

Windows of imagination crystal clear.

Sometimes I smile,

For all the happiness the verses bring.

Sometimes I weep,

Listening to the sad adagios the verses sing.

In perfect solitude, poised to imagine,

In this one true place I call my own.

Every day brings a new journey to fathom,

But this place I call home.

The one place I find solace,

Writing poems feels like grace.

Whether ancient sage or novice,

I lift the mask revealing a true face.

When I finish writing the poem,

I get up and walk away.

Back into the world,

But not all of me.

A part of me left behind,

Between the lines of the poem.

Therein lies my true face.

- - - - -

Saturday 15 March 2025

I Never Met the Love I Lost

by John Herlihy

I never met the beloved that I lost,

Lost beyond all calculation of cost.

Her perfume of absence filled the air,

Her whispered words felt as prayer.

The tinkle in her voice never heard,

In cyber space only tweets of a bird.

Her green eyes never seen in the light,

Only the shadowy glimmer of moonlight.

The phantom loss still feels as presence,

A piece stolen away from my essence.

On a ghost ship, destination unknown,

Into the fabric of life’s tapestry sewn.

In memory, I still her moods reckon,

In the dark of night, her tears beckon.

Her ghost ship now traverses open seas,

As I revive her presence on bended knees.

- - - - -

Thursday 19 June 2025

Responsive Poetry

By Gabby

to I Never Met the Love I Lost

by John Herlihy

Could I Imagine A Love Not Known?

As I Ponder the poem by John Herlihy

It comes to me that I could not Imagine

A Lost Love I'd Never Met, lovely as John's words

But Would I Really Want To...

Could I picture a face without seeing his eyes?

For me a love would have to speak with eyes

There I would see into his soul

And Know, for sure, that love existed...

Other charasteristics I would care about

Would not be physical in nature

Would I be able to laugh, or cry

And know that love for me was sure...

Somehow it seems I chose years ago

To be whatever God planned for me

I didn't miss that Lover's love

For, what Greater Love than from His Son?

~~~

Gabby

8/1/2025

I love the concept for both of these poems by John. The first, I am sure, speaks to all those who write because they must, while I write "in response to" books, poems, politics and more...there really is a difference and John's lovely words shared just what writing does for him--is indeed a part of him...

The mystical magic of his second poem is simply lovely... Makes all of us remember that when young, it was always talk about when "my prince will come" just like in th movies...then reality sits in. LOL... Actually, John's poem presents a very romantic dream in itself...don't you think?

John Herlihy is ongoing contributor here at Book Readers Heaven... He's heading toward 3000 contributions as a member of Author's Den... Find him there!

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Book Readers Heaven - Have You Noticed?

Some of you may have noticed that I've started writing about books again. But I am not now accepting nor will I return to reviewing books on request. You will perhaps see that has allowed me to write more opinionated thoughts about read books... For instance, I might compare the writing of another author...or just allude to the type of book and how I respond to the topic.And, when appropriate, especially for political books, I use relevant news videos to document what is being said in the post. If I do post as a review, I will not be posting the entire blog article on sales sites. I hope you like hearing my personal thoughts more often and hope you will let me know what you think of the change, the expansion beyond a basic review... Insofar as possible, I try to bring together relevant videos or music that speaks to the issue, or which I've been led to use... In all things, now, I am about my Father's Business. I Speak Jesus--of His Love for all and of His Truth... Comments are always welcomed and will be treated with respect...

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Glenda, Wow, wow, wow! You captured what I set out to say in this work. Thank you for your insight and willingness to bear witness to the truth. HMH Glenda. I think I love you and I am sure Jerry does. We’ve already started the second in the series. Yes, it’s going to be a series—he has a treasure trove of high profile casework. He did Casey Anthony. Worked on the 13 year old who tRump and Epstein raped, and so many others. Thank you again for another wonderful review! You do us proud… This is amazing... I've never seen a review in this depth before, and I'm honored beyond words. Thank you for highlighting the subject matter in this way. ❤Sharon Sala Glenda A Bixler The irony of all of this is that I wrote this book in 2021 and turned it in to my publisher, and look what all has happened SINCE then. The release was also scheduled before all of these most recent, horrific incidents, and such is the way of the world in these times. Thank You for bringing attention to this ongoing travesty and tragedy. ❤ I am Lior, the author of The Milk Moon Assassin. You are the first reader, reviewer, that brought tears to my eyes. You have grasped the heart of my story from the angle it was aimed for. Dear Glenda, Double thanks are not enough. Thanks for following. A second thank you for your uplifting review of Alexa's Gold is hardly sufficient. While I apologize for disturbing your sleep patterns, I'm extremely pleased you enjoyed this fictional read. May God bless. Again, multiple, multiple heartfelt thanks. Donan Just saw your review on Amazon and then visited your site. Holy Smoke! As usual, I was amazed at what a fabulous job you did, reviewing the book and adding in all that related material. I was particularly thrilled that you included the book trailer I put on Utube. You adding it to your review made me very happy. In fact, I had a big smile on my face the whole time I looked at what you'd done. I even listened to the violin concerto and watched the video of Dog Hill. Every year it gets harder and harder to bring a new book to the attention of potential readers. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have you as an ally in that endeavor. Thank you so much for all you do for me and for other writers. There's no-one else like you. And that's no exaggeration.With profound gratitude, I remain, Your Friend, Don Thank you. Your commitment to your craft is wonderful. Whether it's one star or 5, your reviews are detailed, considerate, and most of all, beneficial to the prospective reader. What an amazing presentation. Stellar. I never expected anything like that. Do you have a separate link that I can share? I'd love to post this everywhere I can. You did such a fabulous job.cheers Connie Thank you so much for your glowing review of my new book. Your review really highlighted all the things that I try to incorporate in my books - they're the very things I want as a reader. I'm nearly finished writing the next book in the series - Walker and Munoz are back, and interestingly as you referenced in your review, this time it's personal. Again, thank you. I'd read your amazing review before I looked at my Facebook page and was blessed. Hitting the link you posted, I was surprised for few would have gone to so much trouble, fewer still know that Lauren Bacall (born Betty Joan Perske) was Sephardic and bequeathed a large amount of primary source information about the Sephardim to a university, which I was able to view online when corroborating Naomi's story. Your review stands as one of the highlights of this profoundly dyslexic authors’ life. Thank and bless you heart I thought I'd reach out to you for your heartfelt review on my novel. It was beautiful and brought tears to my eyes that someone was so moved by my tale... That it resonated that deeply with someone. Thanks for letting me know I'm not alone. Signed... Wow, this is the most awesome blog post I've ever seen. Thank you for writing it! grin I was thrilled with the details you offered in my review - like a literary movie trailer built on suspense and intrigue. I'm glad you're still reviewing books by aspiring authors like me. We need people like you! Keep up the good work and maintain that passion, Glenda! Words fail me. Hi Glenda, I visited your review website today and was thrilled to see your marvelous features relating to Ms. Cramer's book. I passed them along to the author, and she is very excited and deeply grateful for your attention. Your review of the book is wonderfully anecdotal and insightful, and it will be helpful I believe as an introduction to readers approaching Ms. Cramer's work for the first time. I found the opening of the review to be quite touching, with a wonderful sense of personal experience that I believe is all too often missing in critical review publications. In the context of the article, your remembrances from childhood add a truly beautiful layer to the photopoem you present.We're very impressed by what you put together using the press kit materials, and we will do our best to provide exposure for your features through our mailing list and other avenues.I do look forward to reading your articles in the future.We appreciate your considering our book and thank you very much for your fine and generous review coverage. Saw the review and treatment of THE BLOOD BETRAYAL on your site. Once again, you've amazed me with what you do. Fantastic, fabulous… No, those words aren't good enough to describe your work and you. I wrote up a short piece about what you did, directing people to your site from mine. That was really interesting and something I've never seen anyone do before. Great job, and I'm glad you enjoyed the novel. Yo, my truly heartfelt thank you for your very generous and kind review! I appreciate very much the time and effort you put into this review for me, and your so graciously posting it in multiple locations. Your blogsite is extremely professional and well-done! What you posted for me there has completely blown me away! Thank you again very much for such a comprehensive and thoroughly entertaining review. It's one of the best reviews I have received and I'm very proud to have it. Most Gratefully, Glenda, You review blew my mind. When I listened to the songs you inserted, they brought tears to my eyes. You added a dimension to my work that was missing. In the attachment I have attempted to answer your question about anger. Thank you so much for your raving review. There are no words in the English language to express the gratitude I feel for you. I wish you a wonderful and blessed day. I've been sitting in my chair for nearly fifteen minutes, stuck in an infinite loop of visual digestion and stunned amazement because of what you put together on your site for The Doppler Affect review. The time alone that you put into crafting the page is humbling, but the creativity and flair adds a layer I've never seen in reviews. Of course, the frosting of your very positive evaluation makes it the best cake I've eaten yet! I was also amazed at how you could step away from any biases due to your preferred genre and frame it for others...thank you. My newest book, Patriot's Point, will be released imminently. The publisher wants to know if I knew of any one in particular who has blogs or review sites that I would want to use. I immediately thought of you. Thanks, Doug Glenda, I am truly in awe of your reviews and your review style. I have never seen anyone do a review as you can do one. I was entertained, informed, enlightened and amazed. There should be awards for creative, insightful and captivating reviews -- and you should be a recipient. Thanks for reviewing my book. And thanks for giving it an aura and image and feel that only your review could give it. I am very appreciative. All the best, Patrick During the period of time that you requested my story, I also had other blog sites asking for the book as well. I had received three reviews prior to yours, and although I am very happy to report that all three were positive and enthusiastic, your entire presentation of the book, from the actual commentary to the ambitious visuals, blew me away and has left me emotionally weak-kneed in gratitude. I am extremely touched by all that you had to say and how you visually presented the concept of the book. Please note that I will place your website on the book's Facebook page which will hopefully bring your blog site more readership. Again, please know how grateful I am for your emotionally thrilling review. You have certainly made my day, Glenda! With much appreciation, Author/The Poe Consequence I wanted to make sure I got a chance to properly thank you for posting the wonderful review of The Medici Boy! It was terrific, not just because you like the book (thank you) but because your analysis was thoughtful and honest. You put your heart into it, (Photos were out of this world) and you wrote like a friend would (we think that’s the very best kind of review). I appreciate your time and passion for literature! We’ve been promoting the site, since you went live, and we’re going to continue to promote your site on Social Media throughout the month. Senior Publicist Blue Dot Literary Dear Glenda, I have to start this response with a BIG WOW! I have been very gratified with my experience as a new writer for both my books now and am working on a third. However, your review is like nothing I've ever seen, and I consider it a great piece of writing and creativity in itself. Thank you so very much for your kind words and treatment of Millstone. Once again, thank you for this review. I plan to pass it on in every venue available to me. My best wishes to you JackH Thank you so much for your glowing review of my new book. Your review really highlighted all the things that I try to incorporate in my books - they're the very things I want as a reader. I'm nearly finished writing the next book in the series - Walker and Munoz are back, and interestingly as you referenced in your review, this time it's personal. Again, thank you. I'd read your amazing review before I looked at my Facebook page and was blessed. Hitting the link you posted, I was surprised for few would have gone to so much trouble You review blew my mind. When I listened to the songs you inserted, they brought tears to my eyes. You added a dimension to my work that was missing. In the attachment I have attempted to answer your question about anger. Thank you so much for your raving review. There are no words in the English language to express the gratitude I feel for you. I wish you a wonderful and blessed day. James Womack WOW! What a beautiful post you did for ALMOST PERFECT ON YOUR I can’t imagine how much time you must have taken to create some thing so imaginative and special. I feel truly humbled and touched and quite unequal to saying how much it meant to me. A real present. You must be a very special person. I wish you were my neighbor and we could have a real chat over coffee. Maybe someday. But meanwhile know how wonderful your work made me feel and buoyed to keep on keeping on! Diane

Friday, August 1, 2025

Poet John Herlihy Visits to Present - A Part of Me and I Never Met the Love I Lost -- Lovely Poetry to Ponder! And One Responsive Poem

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