AuthorsDen.com   Join | Login    
Where Authors and Readers come together!

SIGNED BOOKS    AUTHORS    BOOKS    SAMPLE CHAPTERS    AUDIOBOOKS    eBOOKS    STORIES    ARTICLES    POETRY    BLOGS    NEWS    VIDEOS    SUCCESS    TESTIMONIALS

Featured Authors:  Christina Neely, iRachel Glasgow, iD. Enise, iJay Dubya, iAntoinette Kopperfield, iEva Pasco, iMargaret Mullings, iDr. Patrick ODougherty, iMichael Charles Messineo, iLloydene Hill, i

  Home > Poetry > Poetry        Popular: Books, Stories, Articles, Poetry        Authors: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z     

John Herlihy

 Follow Me  

· Contact Me
· Books
· Articles
· Poetry
· News
· Stories
· Blog
· 3,141 Titles
· 14,339 Reviews
· Save to My Library
· Share with Friends!
·
Member Since: Mar, 2001

John Herlihy, click here to update your pages on AuthorsDen!


Books by
John Herlihy











See all Books
by John Herlihy



Ode to Hope and Smoke
by John Herlihy → (All Poetry by John Herlihy)
Friday, September 18, 2026    Rated "G" by the Author.
Share   Print  Save   Follow   Share on Facebook


Poem Artwork

 Odes to Hope and Smoke

by John Herlihy
 
Lo and behold
The twilight world
Of inward hope
And outward smoke
 
Tree logs burn
To create smoke
Our hearts yearn
To create hope
 
Rising hope
Something earned
Rising smoke
Something burned
 
Fading hope
Unanswered prayer
Fading smoke
Thins into air
 
Holy hope
As incense within
Holy smoke
Incense as hymn
 
Calligraphy of hope
A sacred psalm
Calligraphy of smoke
Raises alarm
 
Hope as evidence
Proof of desire
Smoke as evidence
Proof of fire
 
Misty hope
Clarifies vision
Cloudy smoke
Obscures vision
 
Dreamy hope
Hope that lingers
Dying smoke
Slips thru fingers
 
The silence of hope
The sight of a bird
The silence of smoke
As a signal heard
 
The breath of hope
As flaming fire
The breath of smoke
As fires expire
 
The spirit of hope
A butterfly alights
The soul of smoke
Rises unto heights
- - - - -
Copyright © John Herlihy
Wednesday 4 February 2026
 

Want to review or comment on this poem?


Need a FREE Reader Membership?


 Reviews of "Ode to Hope and Smoke"
Reviewed by Ronald Hull
Reviewed on September 18, 2026
Hope is eternal, but often isn't resolved by a lifetime of hoping. As Obama put it, hope is audacious.

Once again you present a wide range of the way we view hope. Well done

Ron

Reviewed by Odin odin@aflx.com
Reviewed on September 18, 2026
Your analogy thoughts send the message out loud and clear. I only wish we could count more on hope as an inevitable saving grace. Seems each day attempts to take down hope another notch with the way our leadership is flogging themselves.


New Poetry by John Herlihy
Popular Poetry (Poetry)
  1.  Catching Happiness...
  2.  Finding Trust Again
  3.  Nightsky
  4.  Reality of Another Kind
  5.  Spindrift
  6.  Kindness
  7.  Our Restless Minds
  8.  Luxury of Solitude
  9.  In The Still of The Night
  10.  Dream Just a Dream
  11.  Life's Enormous Green Chest
  12.  Sediment Within the Soul
  13.  Roadkill Memoriam
  14.  Hunting for Truth
  15.  Whisper Pens
  16.  In Praise of Anonymity
  17.  I Have Spent My Entire Life
  18.  Shaved Reflections
  19.  Feeling Lonely
  20.  Serrated Smiles
Free Book Review Program
Select a book to read and review today!

From the Heart of an Artist Quiet Storm by Gwendolyn Thomas Gath

Perhaps "..Quiet Storm" will help rekindle old flames buried and long forgotten or express the love so deeply locked inside of your soul longing to be released. Regardless of where you may be found in love this beautiful masterpiece can be  
Member BookAds

Prosetry at Work by Odin odin@aflx.com

This book represents a thirty-day period of my poetry journal. Each poem addresses the dominant thoughts occupying my mind during the early morning hours of a given day.  
Member BookAds

Petals of Love: Poetry of a Woman's Soul by Myra Darwish

From the author of Jupiter Remembered and Until It’s Time: Embracing Life In Our Later Years comes Petals of Love: Poetry of a Woman’s Soul – a heartfelt collection spanning more than thirty-five years. Through tender reflections, these poems offer g  
Member BookAds