Waiting to Know
By John Herlihy

Some things I learn to know,
Once a child, then I do grow.
Weaknesses can be strengths,
We achieve at great lengths.
The fire my finger may burn,
My love someone may spurn.
My face awash in moonlight,
A firefly illuminates the night.
My day full of uncertainties,
My destiny full of certainties.

Some things I do already know,
The peaceful perfection of snow.
The blessing and lift of virtue,
Living art in sculptured statue.
Secret messages of night stars,
No one else knows, totally ours.
Universal mystery I always keep,
Precious secret to make me weep.
The impulse to give never taught,
The impulse of sin never sought.

Things that I know I never learned,
Others for which I never yearned.
Quantum physics of us will ask,
To think this question a holy task.
Is the basic element particle or wave,
The answer our eternal life will save.
Ultimate certainties keep us guessing,
Each sign of nature a source of blessing.
True knowledge is waiting to be found,
Now since the time no one was around.

Whether we know or are waiting to know,
The tension, aim, and goal all lie in the bow.