-- Die Before You Die –

John Herlihy

There are so many ways to die,

Without actually leaving the world.

There are so many ways to cry,

Without being into the depths hurled.

There are so many sorrows to bear,

Without giving up one’s own ghost.

There are so many intimacies to share,

Without losing sight of the one true Host.

There are so many ways to be helpful,

Without giving yourself fully away.

There are so many ways to be soulful,

Without having a single word to say.

There are many ways to “die before you die”.

Our time limited; every day could be the last.

To let go of things and upon nothing rely,

To give thanks to God for each moment passed.

To cling to life can be an illusion unmatched,

To live in the world as if we will live forever.

While living day by day has us feeling detached,

Each day suffers death, but dawn all nights sever.

There is another way to die thru surrender,

Letting go of whatever you may think you are.

To kill love of self, Divine Love to remember,

There as symbol in the twilight, the North Star.

There is one unique way of facing death,

To imagine how to die before you die.

To envision what may mean the last breath,

As the world closes down with a final sigh.

There are so many varied ways to die,

But only the eventual death rings true .

In facing death, we see beyond the sky,

There, always before us, the Divine You.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Tuesday 14 September 2021