Reading Words from Prolific Poet John Herlihy - The Sadness of Our World and Mirror Poems Plus Responsive Poem, The Time of A Two-Sided Mind

The Sadness of Our World

John Herlihy

The sadness of our world is not to be believed;
The happiness of our world there to be deceived.
Two lamb ewes abandoned with the mother dead;
Their little legs wobbly, their eyes filled with dread.
A piece of the heart lost with every final goodbye;
The air is quiet, yet the breeze utters a timid sigh.
All the things left unsaid with every word spoken;
All the hurtful things said our misery to betoken.
The hopes left behind that once our dreams filled;
The promises broken that once our minds stilled.
A love once flourishing that deadened as love lost;
An emptiness to face that our future days accost.
The happiness of our world there only to deceive;
The sadness of our world we must face and believe.
- - - - - -

Copyright © John Herlihy

MIRROR POEMS

Forgiving and Unforgiving

By John Herlihy

The unforgiving knot untied within the mind,

A most stubborn suitor of the sternest kind.

The refusal to forgive another burns as fire,

The voice of refusal turns humility into a liar.

Anger boils hotly within the outraged blood;

Jealousy drowns darkly in its raging flood.

Cruelty blinds our hearts to another’s pain;

Indifference sets us free of another’s gain.

The unforgiving harbors a heart of stone;

Never to understand, and never to atone.

***

Forgiving lies bridled within the open mind,

The most tender emotion, unique of its kind.

The impulse to forgive soothes as a balm;

The voice of forgiveness echoes as a psalm.

Generosity opens the gate to mutual return;

Love stirs the restless heart into a slow burn.

Kindness makes us realize another’s sorrow;

Interest in others leads to a joyous tomorrow.

The forgiving person understands true misery;

In forgiving, they find a way to sure discovery.

***

Even if you are unforgiving, I will never tell;

I forgive your trespasses and fare thee well.

***

Copyright © John Herlihy

The Time of A Two-Sided Mind

GABixler

Always been a natural planner

In my head, I'd know my To Dos...

Always been a fact gatherer

Based upon facts, made decisions...

But getting older

In this time of turmoil

Different than every before

Often leaves me moving, thinking

from two sides of my mind!

Good or bad

That's where I am!

I can be sad for the world as it is

But I can be mad for who is causing

such sadness...

I can be forgiving of just about anything

for my friends

But refuse to forgive when somebody

says I backstabbed her for what I did not do

I can believe in God Almighty

Yet still want to ask, "Why?"

But even the Why is not as demanding as once

For I know, now, this is my life

And I am God's Child, no matter how old

For there is so much I'll never know

Even in death...

And it no longer matters,

I do the best I can...

And remembered I'm loved as I am

And the End has begun...

Thank You John for Again Sharing

 at Book Readers Heaven!

Gabby

Stand By Me - Guest Poet John Herlihy - Speaks of the World - Responsive Poem by GABixler

 Stand By Me

John Herlihy

In a lonely and at times cruel world,

I need someone to stand firmly by me.

Into the hardship of one’s destiny hurled,

Someone to take my hand, support me.

We live in a world where strangers reside,

Strangers soon friends, friend soon enemy.

We live in a world mostly difficult to abide,

While underlying everything, life’s mystery.

In a world replete with lying and thieving,

Who in the world offers trust I can rely.

Whether in joyous times or times grieving,

Bound by a sacred trust nothing can belie.

In a world marked by envy and treachery,

With enemies willing to drag me down.

Who in the world there to offer loyalty,

To offer support without a single sound.

The night looms darkly, but I am not afraid,

Even the night tempered by dim starlight.

My earthly dreams in the Milky Way wade,

As I wander thru pathways of starlit night.

Even if the world stands still in its tracks,

And the rivers and springs no longer flow.

I find in your loyalty what the world lacks,

As winter finds trust in the peace of snow.

Are we not strangers, in a world strange,

Born into a realm that feels like an exile.

Taking full responsibility, a life to arrange,

To breathe in life, to frown and to smile.

Life’s books moves forward by the page,

As we walk on in hope and reprimand.

Ever seeking guidance of one true sage,

Ever present, ever ready, to take a stand.

- - - - -

Copyright © John Herlihy

Tuesday 25 February 2025

By Gabby

Your Words; My Words

Can two think the same?

See and feel the same?

When we find the very few

Who speaks not as strangers

But as Friends...

We Can be Thankful

For many do not see the same

Strangers constantly reaching

Not knowing that strangers can be

Exactly who we need to hear

Knowing that trust is possible

For their words are our words...

Amen and Amen...

~~~

God Bless

Gabby

Guest Poet John Herlihy - Body and Soul - Responsive Poetry by GABixler - Poetic Words' Meaning

 

- Body and Soul -–

John Herlihy

We see the body of the world,

Invisible lies the body of the soul.

The physical world but a flimsy veil,

When lifted reveals a sacred tale.

The body of silence offers outer calm,

The soul of silence an inner balm.

The body of hope offers mental repose,

The soul of hope no one fully knows.

Dawn’s timid body gives sheer delight,

The soul of dawn sets our hearts alight.

The body of the firefly beams a light,

The soul of the firefly radiates insight.

The body of the tree extends its arms,

The soul of the tree casts mystic charms.

Body of the night found in moonglow,

Soul of the night do blessings bestow.

The body of the world a dead thing,

Mere forms illusory visions to bring.

The soul of the world a living thing,

Sheer essence inner worlds to bring.

- - - - - -

(c) John Herlihy 26 November 2019

~~~~

Poetic Words Meaning

Oftentimes, I admit, I find poetry,

the words therein, hard to understand

I am bit of a wordsmith, wanting to know exactly

what each word used by a writer actually means

When reading and I come across a word

I do not understand, I read definitions

Many words mean various things

How do we know what the writer is saying

In looking for music, I find Frank Sinatra

Talking about loving somebody body and soul

While another talks of healing music,

throwing in spirit, as well as body and soul (above)

Who am I to know what is in the heart of John

How can I understand what he means by soul

Surely I am comfortable knowing what a body is

Yet, when spirit is thrown in, do they mean the same?

The thing is, I can appreciate the fludity of poetry

while not understanding the writer's exact meaning

Is that good or bad, since I'm a reviewer, but

books are different. There is enough to tell

But in a poem, I often wonder...

Once I thought I understood the Holy Trinity

Father, Son and Spirit as three entities

But now I'm learning so much more

So is soul and spirit interchangeable?

Or not even relevant?

Since it is Christ

Who liveth in me...

So, I go google soul vs. spirit and got

“Soul” when distinguished from “spirit” means that which gives life to a body. “Spirit” when contrasted with “soul” simply means those aspects of human life and activity that transcend our bodily limitations and so open the soul toward the supernatural life of grace.

So, does that help? (Me, I'll keep thinking...)

Because right now in America, a word I used

all my life--Christian--is "now" Christian Nationalist according to some

Can we ever expect to truly understand another?

Should we try? I think So...

Because seeking Truth is always important

Knowing how to Speak Truth is even more important

May we all keep reading and searching for Truth

The better to effectively communicate with others

So, if you have questions regarding Words Used Today by either John or Me. Just Ask... or Ponder the words yourself...

 Because Freedom of Speech 

Really Does Still Exist...

I can question my own understanding

of how a word is, can, or was used,

Can I ever be sure that what I say is Truth?

You know what I mean...God's Truth?

God Bless

Gabby

Guest Poet John Herlihy Presents The Blessing of Change - Responsive Poetry by GABixler - Change is Only Way to Move Forward!

 

-- The Blessing of Change –

John Herlihy 

The river understands change;

 it never stays the same.

The moon understands change;

 it waxes only to wane.

Tree leaves understands change, 

dying in colors blazing.

Rain understands change, 

becoming snowflakes amazing.

Caterpillars understand change,

 as butterflies in the air.

A young horse understands change, 

such a stately mare.

Day understands change; 

limited to minutes and hours.

Night understands change;

 limited to special powers.

Sunrise understands change;

 shutting the night down.

Sunset understands change,

 day’s smile now a frown.

Winter understands change;

 even its death must die.

Spring understands change;

 rainy days hide blue sky.

Summer understands change;

 days in glorious whirl.

Autumn understands change; 

the falling leaves twirl.

We don’t understand change, 

seeking permanency.

We need to accept change, 

embracing its mystery.

- - - - - -

Copyright © John Herlihy

Saturday 30 April 2022

The Blessing of Chance is wonderfully draw from images we all know and appreciate... Correctly, though, he points out that some do not want nor understand the need for change. It is a mystery only to those who are afraid of change. I really enjoyed exploring his words in this treasury of words...

On the other hand, considering my desire to respond to poetry, or other writing, I have, as some of you may remember, considered the timing of when something has been written and published. In this case, at this time, change only means chaos for millions of Americans. So much so, that to not acknowledge that chaos seems not to respect our need to constantly change. Thus a few final thought-filled words...

Responsive Poetry

--Change is Only Way to Move Forward--

God's Cycles of Change

are constants as His Truth

We change as we grow

Learning Change is good

Learning new things

deciding whether we like or not

Rejecting change that limits or hurts

Still, gaining a new awareness of need

Change is what brings advancement

into the world and our lives

Change guides us as we falter 

Yet provides understanding and knowledge

Change allows us to reach out

to another, to learn of differences

Yet secure, that differences are but change

that we haven't met before...

But change wrought by choices

to affect lives negatively

Is not natural, nor necessary 

even in a world of constant change

There is no mystery when man chooses

 change that does not bring forward thinking

Where is the equator of events of change

which determines good change or bad

Change which brings chaos is

not really change at all

For certainly it over-shadows God's cycles

in which We can peacefully live

Destructive Change isn't a blessing

And only Man creates such changes

****

GABixler 4-26-2025

John is a prolific poet and can be found on Authors Den... I'm hoping he will choose to visit often in the future... Thanks, John!

Watch for another from John Next...

God Bless

Gabby

This Reviewer's Personal Response to The First To Say No...

ER (TV series) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is not a review and in no way should reflect anything I've already said about the book, The First To Say No...A Reviewer learns to be objective and not allow personal feelings to words written by another to influence their review, negatively...or that, in my opinion, should be the case...I know I sure try to write by that principle.

~~~

You know, I've been thinking more lately about why some books mean more to me personally. I normally enjoy about 99% of the books I read (and if a book falls within that 1%, I generally don't read it past the first 50 pages, sometimes, now even that many)... My time; my decision as to how to spend it during my later years...

But then, there are still some books that affect me more, because I find something in it relating to my life. Do you read in the same way?

Dr. Anderson obviously has a great love for his profession and for the many individuals who have dedicated their lives to medicine and the ER in particular. Honestly, I would not work for any company that would allow employees to be "manhandled" in any way and not allow them to file criminal charges when appropriate. As one of his medical readers said--it is indeed telling a dirty little secret...

The reason it became personal to me, though, was because of the rage that comes to me because of those supervisors, bureaucrats, CEO's--whatever you want to call them, who have no feelings of empathy or sympathy for their employees and who run rampant in corporate/business America these days...

I had an even more violent reaction, because of the Penn State scandal still going on...Having worked at a university, I had met and become friends with some of the facilities staff there and had attended at least one conference on campus. Unlike others, although some may disagree and I might also if I knew the facts, I don't think Paterno was quite so guilty as the rest...You see, I know that final decisions always are made at higher layers than a director, even one who was so respected and known across the country...It saddens me that Paterno's reputation is now forever tarnished...no matter if, hypothetically, he fought with his supervisors to do something and was overruled... Being fired is everybody's worst fear, no matter what position you hold...

As mine was...

Can you image a nurse, having just been raped, perhaps held down in an emergency room by a drugged out maniac, his strong hand covering her mouth and the other hand plus his body holding her down as he does anything his "visions" create... (And, in the U.S. that druggie could be the son of a powerful, wealth individual who will buy his son out of any problems his actions causes.)

And then be told that nothing can be done because he was receiving medical treatment at the time...

Get real folks! No way should anybody be forced to suck it up for their job! But, tell me honestly, haven't you heard of personal stories from friends, neighbors or relatives where something that has happened at work caused the individual to lose his/her job...I heard a new story as recently as Monday!

Because there are other types of abuse, other than physical... that are not so readily apparent...

It comes from organizational structures that hire people who make decisions based upon the bottom line...
It comes from leaders who have no concerns about what their decisions result in, as it relates to the individuals at that company...
It comes from a political structure that pits political parties against each other, then demands that the selected individuals clean up corruption and mistakes that have been made for hundreds of years within a term of office...
It comes from politicians who make "vested interest" the primary reason for making decisions rather than for the good of the general public...
It comes from supervisors, etc., who make decisions based upon personal power choices rather than having taken time to gather information through investigation, which, when made, results in thousands and millions of manpower loss due to such simple decisions.
It comes from layoffs or other financial choices, or even power choices, which improve the bottom line, without regard that the remaining employees will be overburdened by work and move toward job burnout...

Obviously, I could go on...

A nation who allows criminals to hurt, abuse, threaten, or even murder employees during their work hours and forces it to be covered up...is a nation moving toward the end of its life... Because there are also more ways of killing those employees than just physically... Consider the physical, mental, and emotional damage done to people that you've personally talked to and let me know if you agree or disagree with my thoughts...

Just my personal opinion of course...

 

What's Happening at Book Readers Heaven - Celebrating Passing 3000 Posts! Republishing My Review Process Philosophy...

James Patterson Versus Nora Roberts Versus Dean Koontz Versus Stephen King,  Versus Manny Monolyn Moreno, Versus Walter Jack Savage, Versus, Lin Wilder...et. al.

How Does Your Work Rank Against the Top Fiction Authors?

An Informal Talk About My Review Philosophy - Specifically...

Let's Talk about reviews and reviewers...

Do you have a right to question? Sure...!!!!!

So there I was routinely submitting a review, this time for Megan's Way... when I later got the notification of a comment on Amazon...

I take this type of opportunity to remind myself that I need to share my review philosophy from time to time. Note that this post was created based upon my actually responding to a comment on Amazon.

M, I don't know what a number of your comments relate to so I'll just ignore them and comment about your comments/ critique of me personally as the reviewer.

M, I have published a paper on my feelings regarding grading/ranking books... Briefly, in my opinion, it has no value whatsoever. It is illogical for me to attempt to take a top number, i.e., 5, and use it to select a number to equate the work of, say, James Patterson, Nora Roberts, Dean Koontz, Robert B. Parker, and so many other top authors that I routinely read... To me, if you start from the top down, then those writers who are new writers may never be able to be compared to a top nationally known author. Personally, I think this is discrimination of the worst kind...

I review each book individually and rarely consider ranking, unless I am forced to put one in on sites that mandate it.

Here is my method for grading in a realistic manner, or at least it works for me... One or two stars. I get many requests for books that I refuse to read based upon my posted parameters... too many errors, poor writing, routine publishing issues that should have prevented the book being published. I refuse to read these books beyond 50 pages. Some are so bad that I don't even read beyond the 1st or 2nd chapters. The fact that I refuse to then take my time to proceed to Amazon and report it is apparently what you would expect me to do. Frankly, I consider it a waste of my time, since the whole grading system is faulty and I refuse to play the game when I would be lying if I submitted a review for something I will not read.

Your review giving for instance a one or two...could be based entirely on your own process, as is that of every other individual. If I had agreed to review a book, this doesn't apply as a rule. Instead, I contact the author and explain problems discovered. Most of the time, the author will ask that I do not review the book. Many times, I have also provided documentation related to actual errors so that if the writer wishes, the book can be corrected and resubmitted. The fact that you don't know about those books I've refused to read and either returned or otherwise as agreed by the requester is, frankly, your problem, not mine, since you chose to look at how I grade overall. 

Anyway, by process of elimination the ranking of three is my lowest rating for books I have completely read. I point out that I use, based upon my working at a small publishing company where I had a chance to work on every detail of the publishing process, an evaluation of publishing issues, cover, format, writing and grammar issues as well as story line, so something that gets a 3 will have an explanation for that within my review. If a book has been well done and has a logical story for the most part, but there is something that detracts from an overall satisfying book, it normally will get a four with some reason stated. What that results in is that the top grade is what is left!!!! That does not mean that I personally liked one book versus the other! That's why the grading activity is an unrealistic method for scoring. ...read my words to see what I personally felt about the book!!!!!

If I would be forced to really get serious, then I would have to demand that I be permitted to use a ranking so that I could give, award-winning authors a higher ranking, and then move downward. Frankly I have found that some of the independent writers have created a much better book than many of the well known authors, mentioned above. (So, What do those stars means!!!?) and then go downward to those I would still refuse to read at, say, 1-5... I think you might begin to understand that I pay little attention to how my review rankings compare to yours or anybody else. I've published my philosophy, my process, and I'm willing to share that at any time.

By the way, my personal opinion is rarely used to give a "ranking." I feel I have a responsibility to be able to read and fairly review a book even if it opposes my personal views and still give a fair review. When this occurs, I normally go back to the requester and, you know what, none of them have ever disagreed with my review... I routinely used "words" to voice my opinion rather than a ranking, even though I do rank when required.

Now, regarding your issue with the sexuality content of the characters in this book. Frankly it is obvious to me that this is a personal issue with you. I'm sorry that the book offended, perhaps, your personal opinions. But frankly, the sexuality of these individuals really, in my opinion, had little to do with the overall intent of the book. I could easily defend myself and say that perhaps my writing made it easy for you to misunderstand... but the truth is that those issues were never even a part of my conceptual review material...that the author chose to create these characters that way was really only relevant to the story if the reader decided they were, as you apparently have. 

I am personally appalled by some of the real sexuality issues that are daily displayed on television and other media...and as much as I hate the thought of sex slavery, sexual abuse, etc., that is indeed rampant in today's world, This is where I would place my personal thoughts, but thousands of authors/ screenwriters, etc., continuously write about those issues, and are legally permitted to do so. I would include these issues for information, but would not consider these issues as part of the ranking process unless they bordered on pornography, which I have publicly stated I will not review.

As for sexuality? You really have no right with today's laws to question that a gay and straight had sex. In fact, they have a word for it-- bisexuality...Legally, in my opinion, I am not permitted to question the law as a reason for my review activities. Indeed, I state publicly that my reviews do not discriminate on all those issues covered by law, including sexuality. Regardless, I still repeat that, for me, the sex was not relevant to the overall conceptual story line--and you are blind to today's world if you don't think that the "real" sexual issues happening to our children and teens are not worldwide, but like I said before, the sexual activities were not the thrust of my understanding of the story. My review title clearly shows that I felt Death and Dying within the family was being spotlighted. I believe this "could" be considered to happen across the world? At least in my knowledge of "this" world. Although I do admit to including statements often connecting the overall storyline to real world issues. For me, that's part of how I read a book and believe it may be helpful to potential readers.

M, as an aside to all this, it is clear to me that you are not regularly reviewing, so I thought I'd mention that there are millions of books given free for reviews every single day!!!!! Amazon does it through their own program, but every book site has them routinely. But if you can give me a valid, legal reason to stop this and get every publisher, author, publicist, etc., to stop providing them, sure, I'd be happy to review the books I've purchased that sit stacked to be read and enjoyed, I'd be happy to change my activities. By the way, you should also know that the government got involved in all this several years ago and I've handled my tax issues in accordance with IRS regulations and filed them appropriately and on time for many years. And...the reason you know that all my book reviews are provided free is because I follow government regulations to display that... but if you look hard enough, some of my books have been purchased...but I rarely have time to read those books because of the number of requests I routinely get...

If you have any other thoughts on my credibility, hey, just ask. I've had to put a notice up that I'm not accepting any new requests. And my ratings for whether they are "helpful" here on Amazon by readers is apparently satisfactory according to statistics...

Now, could I ask you one thing...why don't you include a picture? Are you for real? Can I find you anywhere else on the internet? How do we know who you are, who throws out poor ratings so freely?

I note that you often rank low with innuendo and sarcasm and with your supposed intelligence which is compared to those that felt differently than you about a given book... Hmmm, I wonder why your choice of books is not much better? I would think you'd take more time with your purchased selections. But then, I note that many have been "bought" when they are being given free? Kind of ironic, don't you think?

And, yes, the last two paragraphs are meant to be sarcastic. But then, I'm not reviewing a book where I try to be fair and unbiased. Apparently you don't bother with that... I do...

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