-- What Life Teaches Us --

John Herlihy

I know not from professors and grad courses;

I have never studied art, literature or rhyme.

I never joined the army, navy or special forces;

Life itself has taught me a few things over time.

Can a person really learn how to write a poem,

The plusses and minuses of rhythm and rhyme.

Inspiration comes from the magic of one’s totem,

The words, creative spirit and muse totally mine.

Cowardice and courage the two sides of character;

Impulses that emerge, but not from what we know.

They tell us who we are, as does sorrow and laughter;

The choice ours to make, from talents God did bestow.

Being in a rush teaches me the value of patience;

Feeling annoyed when I really need to get a grip.

Why should we stumble and fall from impatience?

Why not prefer silence to giving other people lip?

Much easier to hate than nurture feelings of love,

Anger and hatred emotions that set forth at ease.

Who taught me to mount the feathers of a dove?

Defy gravity by flying through the air on a breeze.

We desire to control things we don’t fully know;

We think we can beat the odds and surge ahead.

No one will ever teach you the value of letting go;

Only your life experience will show the way instead.

Sickness may be harsh and very difficult to bear;

In grim foreboding, we wait patiently to get well.

Hardship and tragedy leave our hearts in despair;

Do we have the wisdom to endure, time will tell.

I remember the day when by a friend I was betrayed;

I repeat friend, not stranger or enemy that I didn’t know.

I abandoned the friendship immediately, the price paid;

Better an enemy to know, rather than friend not to know.

When others listen to their own voice and talk up a storm,

I always listen most carefully, but prefer to remain silent.

Words dissipate into the air, even those from the heart torn;

Instead, I sift through the chatter, seeking a wisdom reliant.

Interesting to learn that the mind has a way of protection;

The best day, hour, moment of my life always remembered.

Our worse memories soon forgotten as a form of rejection;

Hardships, sickness and despair are suitably dismembered.

I have also learned the subtle beauty of nature to behold,

To appreciate everywhere we turn, if we only take notice.

The truth, the balance, and the wisdom without being told,

Revelations in the night sky, the budding bliss of the lotus.

Finally, we are faced with mysteries in life we must confront.

Where do we come from, what must we do, where must we go?

Polar bears swim with ease, birds fly south, bald eagles hunt;

No professor or grad course ever taught them, they simply know.

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(c) John Herlihy 5 April 2020