The Things I Never Do
By John Herlihy

Time’s arrow never stops and flies ever straight.
It always moves forward and will for no one wait.

I never miss what I have never known,
Bereft like a ladybug far from her home.
I never lose myself in the impulse to swoon,
Drunk like butterflies in the petals of a bloom.
I never receive anything by being a cad,
By being a prince or medieval knight clad.

I never seek what may be impossible to find,
Already discovered and found, I simply unwind.
I never wait unduly beyond a reasonable time,
Patience is a virtue, but lost minutes not mine.
I never rush forward carelessly into the breach,
Hopes and dreams yes, but I keep them in reach.

I never forget what needs to be remembered,
Virtue, honor, respect, before God surrendered.
I never remember what needs to be forgotten,
My heart throws away what has turned rotten.
I never wish intentionally to cause anyone pain,
But that does not mean other people do the same.

I never bring myself to trust the hypocritical smile,
Hypocrisy stirs within me an overflow of bile.
I never make any promises that I cannot keep,
Those who break promises pretend to be meek.
I have never sought what I had no desire to find,
Only to fulfill my dreams, sealed in wax to bind.

I never allow myself to doubt what is truly certain,
Truth lies behind a veil, we need only lift the curtain.
I never seek out a place where birds refuse to fly,
Where clouds refuse to roam in a boundless sky.
I do not fear the many things that I do not know,
The unknown means awakening, a reason to grow.

These are the things in my life that I never do;
After all, whatever we do, we cannot then undo.