To Be or Not to Be
by John Herlihy
it will never be,
as it once was
it will soon be
as it will be
it never was
once destined to be
it never will be
once destined to be
for years in the past
never again to be
for years in the future
always ready to be
whether to be or not to be
in the future or in the past
something as potential
something never to last
time is what it is
first fire then fizz
to be or not to be
To be, then no longer me.
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Copyright © John Herlihy
Saturday 8 November 2025
One Brief Moment
by John Herlihy
If God could give one moment In time,
One moment in time that could exist forever.
One moment always to be remembered,
One moment never to be forgotten.
One moment to treasure as a precious gem,
One moment to savor that will never end.
Forgive me Lord for what I have asked,
One brief moment to forever last.
One brief moment as a grain of sand,
Into the lifetime of a heart to land.
One brief moment that begins at birth,
One brief moment that ends at death.
The past a list of moments expired,
The future a list of hopes inspired.
Human time an arrow on the move,
God’s rhythms have nothing to prove.
One brief moment I can rightly call mine,
One brief moment turns into a lifetime.
An entire lifetime to be swept away,
One brief moment lived in God's day.
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Copyright © John Herlihy
Saturday 1 November 2025
Doubt
by John Herlihy
doubt, that ghostly shadow
that roams stealthy thru the night
that walks brazenly thru the day
an uninvited guest in the mind
in search of a comfortable niche
roots of doubt ancient and deep
as if claiming a basic law of nature
wherever the light of certainty goes out
the specter of doubt will soon follow
as branches to the tree
as rivers to the sea
that feels at home between the layers
that slides down between the cracks
as if the mind and body
have parted their merry ways
the mind taking the body
where it doesn't want to go
walks proudly, no bending of knees
specializes in creating discontent
casting doubt what things meant
life is full of mysteries
doubt is not one of them
doubt exudes the odor of certainty
with its birthmark of duplicity
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Copyright © John Herlihy
Wednesday 5 November 2025
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I Tremble
by John Herlihy
Not a day goes by,
that I do not tremble.
Let me utter a simple sigh,
As my thoughts assemble.
I tremble in relief,
To awaken to another day.
I tremble in grief,
With nothing left to say.
I tremble at the thought,
That there will be no tomorrow.
I tremble when caught,
In the midst of some sorrow.
Not a night goes by,
That I do not tremble.
I breathe a simple sigh,
As my memories assemble.
As soon as the sun goes down,
Blankets of darkness cover the land.
As If God Himself did frown,
Speaking to us in reprimand.
I tremble and tremble again,
As I gaze at those distant stars.
Suns that for centuries have been,
When here on earth as if behind bars.
In wonder, in fear, in flight,
I tremble in corners of the mind.
Alone at the stroke of midnight,
Darkness offers feelings unkind.
Never imagined this love lost
Pieces of the heart to tremble
Mind coated in winter frost
A broken heart to reassemble
The descending of the falling leaf
Trembling on the water’s surface
Its one life on earth but brief
Having fulfilled its unique purpose
What are these feelings of love,
I can think of nothing else.
Overwhelmed, a trembling dove,
Love's finger pressing on my pulse.
We tremble in so many ways,
As minutes to the hour whose counting.
Trembling thru all the number of days,
The extent of God's mysteries surmounting.
Woe the day I tremble no longer,
If all of life's miracles found bereft.
Wonders to make hearts grow fonder,
Gone in a flash with nothing left.
The whole world will tremble
Listening to the divine Cry
At the accounting to assemble
In the shadow of the divine Eye
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Copyright © John Herlihy
Monday 10 November 2025
In Old Age to Die Young
by John Herlihy
I hope in my old age to die young,
More light than darkness in me spun.
As I look to my youth, I have to laugh,
I wanted to increase my age by half.
How could I shed my skin and grow up,
How could I rid myself feeling as a pup.
Grow up I did, time’s arrow never does stay,
The half century gone by seems as yesterday.
Now I wish to end my days without pretense,
Capturing if possible that feeling of innocence.
That sweet innocence that only children know,
All the wild fantasies their imaginations bestow.
Collecting grasshoppers, ladybugs and fireflies,
Imagine the wonder when a praying mantis flies.
To see things thru aging eyes as if never before,
Seeing everything again for the first time, galore.
If age teaches anything it is to abandon all fear,
A long lifetime of days all the while God is near.
We live within a reality that speaks one thing true ,
The one thing we need to know we never knew.
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Copyright © John Herlihy
Sunday 9 November 2025
No Doubt Greater
by John Herlihy
No doubt greater,
Than the doubt of one’s faith.
No loss greater,
Than the loss of one’s faith.
No strength stronger,
Than the strength of one’s faith.
No belief more believable,
Than the belief in one’s faith.
No trust greater,
Than the trust in one’s faith.
No confidence more confident,
Than the confidence in one’s faith.
Nothing more visible,
Than the visibility of one’s faith.
No doubt darker,
Than the darkness of one’s faith.
No light greater,
Than the light of one’s faith.
Faith is the basis of things hoped for,
The evidence of things not seen.
(Hebrews 11:1)
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Copyright © John Herlihy
Sunday 2 November 2025
While All I Ever Truly Wanted
by John Herlihy
We struggle all through life like a pathetic clod,
While all I ever truly wanted was to sing to God.
We do things we think we wanted, then feel regret,
While all I ever truly wanted was never God forget.
We search for fortune across the globe as if blind,
While all I ever truly wanted was keep God in mind.
We wonder, think, probe and many questions raise,
While all I ever truly wanted to send forth my praise.
We have our ups and downs, our lives full of emotion,
While all I ever truly wanted was to kneel in devotion.
We seek pleasure in the senses, always wanting more,
While all I ever truly wanted was a loving God to adore.
We wish and want, we lose and miss, we fall into despair,
While all I ever truly wanted was to live life as a prayer.
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Copyright © John Herlihy
Saturday 1 November 2025
Thank you, John, for sharing moments of contemplation
You've give all of us much to consider...
The last song, by the way, is my favorite version of The Lord's Prayer as He taught us to pray...
God Bless
Gabby
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