We Feel as Strangers
by John Herlihy
We feel as strangers,
When confronted with a sense of wonder.
On earth lone rangers,
Stunned by a storm’s lightning and thunder.
A new world opens,
When sorrow makes way into our hearts.
To learn what sorrow betokens,
Until sorrow takes leave and departs.
We hear music,
And the sublime leaves us shaken.
The lyrics lilting, poetic,
A fresh sense of wonder to awaken.
Will you wait for miracles,
In the coming of the new day?
We sit on pinnacles,
Never knowing exactly what to say.
We hear a poem,
And feel warmed by the poem’s fire.
The verses as melodic hymn,
Stirring our hope and desire.
We feel as strangers,
In a world of potential friends.
No longer lone rangers,
As long as life’s mystery never ends.
- - - - -
Copyright ©John Herlihy
Sunday 31 August 2025
Share
Print
Save
Follow
But my old ways of communicating with strangers: on the bus, plane, waiting room, or in line, are gone. Because now everyone within sight has their nose in their mobile phones intently watching something or texting something and never look up until they are shaken from their lonely pursuit of whatever it is on the Internet and have to get back into real life. Sad to see real life and stranger conversations disappear.
Ron