Poet John Herlihy Presents for Your Pleasure - Poetic Words to Ponder...

 

Some Ideas Take Time by John Herlihy Some ideas need a little time to take root, Like a weary foot settling into an old boot. First they dig deep, then begin to take rest , As if realizing they are at home in their nest. How do all these ideas spring from nowhere, The mind at rest, then suddenly they are there. All those negative ideas that serve as a ploy, Settle in dark hallways with intent to annoy, The mind itself seems to be set up as a maze, Happy thoughts gone wrong as if in a daze. Taking the wrong turn into some dark corner, Lost in the dark maze, ending up like a goner. Oh, give me an idea that can stand on its own, Just a little, innocent, sweet idea fully grown. - - - - Copyright © John Herlihy Friday 9 January 2026 Is Language Innocent? by John Herlihy   Every door has a crack, To let in potential light. Every light has a shadow, A ghost moon in the night.   My honest take Must have a dishonest take. My sincere apology Must have an insincere apology.   Let me speak plainly Suggests you could speak less plainly. If only you knew Raises the specter of what you don’t know.   I call it as it is What about as it is not? I must confess A whole lot you don’t confess.   Under no circumstances Leaves room for certain circumstances. I never assume Until I do assume.   In any case Belies that one certain case. If truth to tell Ya, what about lies that tell.   Tell me a lie And I will infer the truth. Tell me the truth And I will defer the lie.   We think language oh so innocent When in fact, language oh so guilty Every statement has an equivalent The cloth of language feels oh so silky - - - - - Copyright © John Herlihy Thursday 12 March 2026

A Simple Truth

by John Herlihy

All we need is simple truth

To cut through the thick of things;

All we have is knowledge and will—

Spears thrown into the heart of things.

Knowledge shows us the way,

Free will leads us down the path;

Our choices always have their say,

Footprints left behind in the aftermath.

Truth as a fixed reality is simple;

We, as a fluid reality, are complex.

In the smile of life lies a dimple,

As slyly we are put to the test.

Knowledge as a beautiful flower,

Pictures painted as fine art;

Our free will holds unique power

To make a choice, then depart.

Knowledge is well arranged;

Presented to us is a choice.

We choose, and things are changed—

If not to despair, then to rejoice.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood;

The roads have knowledge, we the will—

To see what’s possible, to do what we could,

To make things happen by force of will.

The fabric of destiny made through choice,

Threads woven through life’s tapestry;

Either yes or no given its true voice—

The answer to unveil life’s mystery.

What is it that we finally choose—

What to believe, how to behave?

We choose to live, we choose to lose;

We choose a simple truth that saves.

—

Copyright © John Herlihy

Friday, 26 June 2026

We Never Do Know

by John Herlihy

We never do know what the future might bring,

We only come to know when the future arrives.

To know the future would hearts flutter or sing,

Knowledge that betokens if we are dead or alive.

Then the perennial question of wheres and whens,

Lost chances, unlikely prospects, the never agains.

We never know what may over the horizon arise,

Heaven-sent blessing that may fall from the skies.

They say that it is not the person that seeks luck,

Rather a lucky chance that seeks out the person.

Let your fishing hook fall quietly into the stream,

When you least expect it, a hooked fish will gleam.

Let the future bring with it, come whatever may,

The world but a bauble and we humans are at play.

- - - - -

Copyright © John Herlihy

Wednesday 24 December 2025

John, Me and the Cats thank you for speaking truth in the midst of chaos and lies...

It helps to know others see what we see...

Or is it...just...

No Matter...It's a Wonderful Interlude...

Gabby

John Herlihy Shares Latest Moments of Contemplation - To Be or Not to Be, One Brief Moment, Doubt, I Tremble, In Old Age to Die Young, No Doubt Greater, While All I Ever Truly Wanted, My Playlist to Support...

 

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.

- - - -

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.

- - - -

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

- - - -

Copyright © John Herlihy

Wednesday 5 November 2025

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

- - - -

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.

- - - -

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)

- - - -

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.

- - - -

Copyright © John Herlihy

Saturday 1 November 2025

Thank you, John,  for sharing moments of contemplation

You've given 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

John Herlihy Four New Poems - On My Way - Let It Rain - Message of the Moon - We Pretend Not to Notice

 

On My Way

by John Herlihy

People ask me why

Why do I do what I do

Why, why and again why

Why not rest with what I knew

And I can only answer them

Why? I don’t know why

Why rest with what I knew

I gotta go where I’ve not been

Until I can say to myself

I’ve come this far

And I’m done with coming

I can’t go no further

Now do you know why

Well then, get up and go

Go where you want to go

For the sun has risen

You can stay home

In your rocking chair

But I’m heading out

On my way

- - - - -

Copyright © John Herlihy

Sunday 12 October 2025

I love this, John!

I feel just like you,

Only difference I do my traveling

With books about all things...

Do what you gotta do!

Gabby

Let It Rain

by John Herlihy

Birds care little whether or not it rains,

Sit on tree branches, no one complains.

You don’t see a bird under an umbrella,

Looking pedantic, the brave little fella.

Let’s take the example, a thing to learn,

Why worry, without need for concern.

This question of rain needs addressing,

What real bother lies in such blessing.

Clouds rush overhead as if on a whim,

While we here below try to look prim.

The last thing we want is to get all wet,

All drenched to the skin, feeling upset.

Do birds make fuss with a wet feather,

No, they endure whatever the weather.

The next time it rains, I say let it come,

Beating on me softly like a gentle drum.

- - - - -

Copyright © John Herlihy

Sunday 18 January 2026

John, after weeks of nothing but snow

I'd love to have rain come and wash it away

Also, bring showers to bring spring again!

Thanks for the reminder of what is to come...

Gabby

Message of the Moon by John Herlihy                             What is the message of the moon,                           But the waxing of its days.                     What is the symbol of the moon,                  But the inscrutable waning of its ways. A message we every night encounter, In its nightly passage across the sky. Stars rained down as from a fountain, We gaze into the night sky with a sigh. The moon waxing large with its borrowed light, Across the vast wreckage of its ravaged face. Without the moon night wouldn't be truly night, Nothing in heaven and earth could take its place. One night a month arrives the new moon, Blended into the darkness and impossible to see. Like being in remote recesses of a darkened room, Waiting for the moon in such a dark ebony sea. Waxing and waning on those lonely nights, Our lonely moon fixed within our lonely sights. On its journey through the night as a ghostly echo, Singing melancholy songs of sadness and joy in solo. - - - - - Copyright © John Herlihy                                                    Friday 3 October 2025                                                              As soon as I saw your beautiful picture.                     I thought of the song Moon River                          but wasn't sure it worked 'til I saw             your last line about songs of sadness and joy...                                Really enjoyed this one...         We Pretend Not to Notice                          by John Herlihy We pretend not to notice certain things, Other things we pretend not to care. Just take it all in whatever life brings, Protected by a wink and a prayer. I go around hoping no one will notice, My crisp white shirt worn without flare. Just another weed in a pond amid lotus, People walk by without needing to stare. At a party I always wear something bland. As a protection against the outer world, No flamboyant style inviting a reprimand. All of my banners I keep tightly furled, Attending to business never to be noticed. Still hoping, just a little, someone will care, - - - - - Copyright © John Herlihy Sunday 5 October 2025 John, you must be somewhat of an introvert, just as I for this poem was the male version of my thoughts I'm so happy to have found your words So often they speak the words in my heart... and probably so many others... Thank you for your ongoing sharing... God Bless Gabby