Eternal Values
By John Herlihy

Consider for a moment:
We all avoid going against the grain;
We seek purity, not the invasive stain.
We make promises we hope to keep;
We perform actions we hope to reap.
We endeavor to follow the straight path;
We fear being silly causing others to laugh.
We live in fear of our secrets being exposed;
We hate doing things that others have imposed.

Consider for a moment:
Freedom is a commodity that we all seek;
Freedom to foster what we wish to reap.
Mystery is unseen waiting to be revealed;
Mystery preserves a secret always sealed.
Perfume exudes a smell that betrays itself;
Exquisite or revolting, we smell the inner elf.
Truth is a universal we try to catch in hand;
Truth seen in a thousand eyes is never planned.

Consider for a moment:
No one can un-ring the echoing bell,
Recalling the notes of its magic spell.
No one can un-tell the sinister lie,
Once revealed by a treacherous spy.
No one can close the flower blossom,
Once it has opened its face to the sun.
No one can unravel the secrets of the rune,
Once the mystery has unleashed its tune.

Consider for a moment:
Who can steal back the false accusation,
Once it has destroyed someone’s reputation.
Who can recreate pristine love fully enjoyed,
Once it has been betrayed and fully destroyed.
Who can recapture the trust of a lost friend,
Once you walk away and into shadow descend.
Who can awaken possibility to pursue one’s dream,
Once you give up the ghost and tear apart its seam.

Imagine how the universal values are subtly compressed,
Down into my own aching heart, seemingly fully dressed.
They soar on high and float in orbit around multiple suns;
They speak of infinitudes without the certainty of sums.
Eternal values are engraved in colonnades of arching stones;
They endure like soaring eagles or kings on raised thrones.
We hardly dare utter the words to evoke miraculous wonder;
We simply sit in silence as the universe resounds its thunder.
Consider that for a moment.