Ode to the Imagination

John Herlihy

Imagination is the last sanctuary of the inventive mind,

There for the taking, a gift for the seeing and the blind.

As a journey into alien worlds, with miracles on offer,

Countless treasures explored from this limitless coffer.

Imagination is the final refuge of the ever-seeking mind,

The white winter breath of freshness in a world unkind.

Imagination takes us on a journey we are destined to go,

Thru landscapes of beauty adorned with blankets of snow.

Ecstasy may have its moment, but imagination is forever,

To draw upon its well of inventiveness, abandoned never.

Knows no limits, let little children tell you how and why,

Their imaginations run wild, soar aloft into the infinite sky.

Imagination tells me be happy, even if filled with sorrow,

Days may be long, but the future arrives with tomorrow.

Imagination as presence, ready to fill all the empty hours,

A bridge from boredom to plenitude with special powers.

Entering the imagination is like entering the twilight zone,

To fly high as a soaring eagle, or a king sitting on his throne.

Who defined it best, Shakespeare: My mind’s eye, Horatio,

Music of celestial spheres heard as the sweetest pianissimo.

In the silent hours of mind awaken rays of this inner eye,

Visions never before imagined that the mind can now espy.

Imagination lifts us as a bird aloft thru a cloudy sky to float,

To look down upon myself on earth, fishing in my little boat.

- - - - -

Copyright © John Herlihy

Monday 3 March 2025