Hymn to Nameless Places
By John Herlihy

He imagined the world as he sat on a log,
Silence prevailed in the surrounding bog.
In a primordial darkness without any edge.
Its boundlessness seemed like a pledge.
A sacred hymn in tribute to the unknown;
The presence of an identity never truly shown.

Mystery pours forth from the dark ocean,
Where phantoms howled and witches bled.
In capturing the ocean we might lose the sea,
Where nomadic whales on innocent fishes fed.
Nameless places echo cries of an ancient past,
Enriching the modern world with places vast.

Dry pine needles whisper secrets to the wind;
Tree limbs wave their leafy arms and grinned.
Creaking footsteps awaken the night on the stairs,
Fir trees put awe in our hearts uniquely theirs.
The pillars of trees stand tall in stately repose,
To quietly speak what only a tree could propose.

Moon glow is filled with ragged patches and rags,
When seen from a jungle floor’s sinews and snags.
The sun’s movement contains the mystery of time,
Rising and setting with poetry shining with rhyme.
Light creates shadows moving of their own accord;
In saying nothing they truly strike a universal cord.

Courage of the heart mimics the courage of stars,
To light the Milky Way from planets Earth to Mars.
Silent places within create their own unique zone,
Where our faults and flaws find a refuge to atone.
Such places remain nameless to respect their charge,
To arouse mystical wonder and our spirits enlarge.