I Have Spent My Entire Life
by John Herlihy
I have spent my entire life,
Preparing to write these words.
I have lived my entire life,
In the shadow of beautiful birds.
I have walked a lonely way,
In the valley of mountain peaks.
I seek a message to convey,
By the side of lonesome creeks.
I am not afraid to be alone,
Content to keep my own company.
My life pared to the bone,
Attempting to unveil life’s mystery.
A journey on distant roads,
Making efforts some future to avail.
To carry my own loads,
To purposefully into the future sail.
In the course of a lifetime,
There is still more time to come
A life I claim as mine
A tapestry I myself have spun
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Copyright © John Herlihy
Saturday 24 January 2026
At the Heart of Reality
by John Herlihy
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Ah, how I wish to find the right words—
words that can strike at the heart of reality,
an unquestioned reality that draws us in
under the merciful folds of its soft blanket.
We seldom see the true nature of reality,
To witness the reality that lies unseen
beneath the shiny surfaces of the day’s unreality,
waiting to make itself known, waiting to gleam.
A reality unseen by the outer senses—
something to hear without really listening,
to be touched when no one there touching,
a fine smell that brings about a fresh awakening.
We are surrounded by so‑called realities,
subtle unknown realities waiting to be known,
truths that whisper, suggest, unveil themselves—
a reality that feels comfortable once made known.
Why do we allow ourselves to live on the fringe,
floating on waters that keep us on the surface,
content with what the five physical senses tell us—
until suddenly a door opens wide as if unhinged?
As if once blind, now seeing for the first time;
once deaf, now hearing melodies sublime;
to be touched as if never touched before;
to taste life’s nectar—and now you want more.
We all want secrets in our minds to hold,
secrets we treasure when we are finally told,
to be singled out to receive such a valued gift—
a secret no one else knows, a secret that hearts uplift.
A secret that brings forth a bud into bloom,
a secret that turns a caterpillar into a butterfly,
a speck of light in the waters of a deep well,
a soothing resonance echoing from a tolling bell.
The next time you awaken, be sure to think again
of all the hidden wonders that might have been—
of what lies deep within the heart of life’s mystery,
truths to be found within the heart of life’s reality.
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Copyright © John Herlihy
Saturday 1 August 2026
Things That Matter
by John Herlihy
When I look around me my eyes feel like wool,
What do I see but many things empty or full.
Things don't exist in my life that could matter,
Other things exist in my life that do matter.
Not sure where this poem may finally lead,
Let us think carefully before we proceed.
First, let me consider a future full of hope,
A future soon to arrive pulled by time's rope.
Hope there in the mind unwilling to depart,
That soon seeps down to nestle in the heart.
Hope may be in doubt but it never truly hides,
There pulsating in the heart where it resides.
Second, let me consider the value of a friend,
A true friend I dare say always there to the end.
A friend who arrives our appointments to keep,
Someone to share my sorrow and with me weep.
Who keep their promises extended on borrow,
A lifetime friend always there as if no tomorrow.
Third, let me consider the value of my trust,
Encased in fortified steel that will never rust.
A trust between two people forever to bind,
A covenant that holds people closer and kind.
Such a treasured commodity exceedingly rare,
In this day and age: who do I trust? Do I dare?
Fourth, let me consider prime virtues to uphold,
Patience one of them that is beautiful I am told.
Generosity for another never to be fully reckoned,
Sincerity that from recesses in the heart beckoned.
Let us not forget the oft forgotten virtue of kindness,
That will surely lead us to the state of peacefulness.
In addition, let us consider a condition called solitude,
A state of being that offers the serenity of quietude.
A quietude that raps us in its warm embrace,
A return to our natural state that feels like grace.
The beauty of being with oneself, totally alone,
Reduced to bare essence like a sculpted bone.
Finally, let me consider the blessing of love,
With all the purity and innocence of a dove.
A love that captures us and holds us aloft,
The pulse of love with fingers tender and soft.
Love's intimacy takes us to places unknown,
The mystery of love, of shadows and light sewn.
These just some of the things that really matter,
Some – not all – of the things that really matter.
Each of us has a duty to carefully think within,
To fill our cup of held values to the very brim.
Let us not race about like some mad hatter,
Uphold and live all the things that truly matter.
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Copyright © John Herlihy
Wednesday 21 January 2026
The Wonder of Life’s Mystery
by John Herlihy
A story is written
A story for each of us
A story we don’t know
A story we come to know
Shoes for walking that we fill
Choices we make of free will
Eyes with visions that we see
Ears that listen to life’s melody
Actions we pay for in life’s store
Days that crash upon life’s shore
Values we foster at our discretion
Answers we find we never question
A fabric we sew as an earned destiny
Born from the wonder of life’s mystery
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Copyright © John Herlihy
Saturday 24 January 2026
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