Life’s Award
By John Herlihy

I
I have never won an award in my entire life,
Not a single prize has lessened my efforts and strife.
Best teacher, best poet, even best new comer,
I walk thru the seasons until the dog days of summer.
That is when I sit back and wonder what I have truly done,
What work have I accomplished? What webs I have spun?

II
I tell students in my writing class I am not one of their teachers;
“I am a writer and you are writers, not students in the bleachers.”
They look up at me quite stunned, beaming with faces well pleased;
I seem to have struck a note that puts them attentive and at ease.
I shouldn’t expect to win a prize just for coming up with that,
Better luck at an animal show winning first prize for a fluffy cat.

III
I have written down my thoughts for the better part of 50 years.
Through sweat and toil and a face full of sobering tears.
My ambition, my dream, has always been to be a writer;
But I forgot to include in my fantasy I need to be a fighter,
To kick and scream and fight my way to the top of my game,
To achieve I am told what matters in life, the coveted prize of fame.

IV
Truth to tell, I have no expectations of any prize at all.
Morning, noon and night, I do my work without a fall.
I cling to a piece of wisdom that I think outshines all the rest,
A piece of acquired knowledge that I hold dearly to my breast.
It is enough to say what I do and then do what I say,
If that could win prizes in life, I would be making hay.

V
Summer, autumn, winter, spring, all seasons a unique quality bring,
In my hopes, fears, and desires, these seasons have had their fling.
Spring encourages expectation; summer brings the fulfillment of youth,
Falling autumn leaves induce sadness, falling winter snow invites gladness.
The distinctive seasons give and take away as they are so inclined,
We humans can do nothing more than executing well what is in mind.

VI
Now as my life is drawing to an end, I know the meaning of life’s award;
The doing and the having done have given me their most valued reward.