-- A New Kind of Vision --

­­John Herlihy

I once stumbled upon a new way to see things,

To see things differently, with new precision.

New lightness, a freshness, that letting go brings,

Witnessing the world with a new kind of vision.

The giving up of old habits that now seemed stale,

Rocks as hard, glass as brittle, grass as emerald green.

Suddenly feeling as one blind, enlightened by braille,

Flower buds, autumn leaves, I know what they mean.

Suddenly, the cloudiness of vision became clear,

I could see the things I had never seen before.

My diaphanous sight came increasingly near,

I could lift the veil that my eyesight always wore.

To see what the mountains, what the clouds see,

Far down below, the earth without its horizon.

To behold what the butterfly sees, what bees see,

Inside the buttercup, a heart held by delicate petals.

I could see the invisible hidden deep in the visible,

Never seen before, yet it was always there.

The visible made better sense, knowing the invisible,

Now when I see trees in motion, I simply stare.

All of nature now unfolds as a grand story,

Birds take to the air with their God-given grace.

Rivers begin in mountain springs to fuel their mystery,

The ladybug and the firefly all know their place.

Like being lost and then finding a new home,

A place to weave new insights, a place to grow.

New visions that invite us to explore and roam,

New possibilities I thought I would never know.

A forest as cathedral of solitude and repose,

Dust motes in the rays of shining light glisten.

Deer lay quietly in the underbrush and doze,

Honey bees seek nectar as chipmunks listen.

I see with new insight that offers true vision

The stars teach me how to sparkle in the night

Emboldened, I see the world with no indecision

Moonlight teaches me the beauty of reflected light

The breeze settles, the river gurgles again and again

Turning the marvels of nature into the voice of a friend

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Sunday 20 December 2020