Winter semester break has arrived and I am off on another journey. Here is another poem before I make my way.

The Healing Road
By John Herlihy

I
Across the long years of my life,
I have walked down many a path,
Across the savannah, I followed
The footprints of a runaway giraffe.
Stretches of highways took me
To cities spread proudly across the earth,
Their skyscrapers gleamed in the sunlight,
Under heaven’s dome filling the horizon’s girth.
I have trekked thru tangled jungles
Awaiting the sight of an elephant’s hide,
Every step a fearful heart beat
As I advanced timidly along in my stride.

II
I have climbed thru forested highlands
Whose stately trees have no ceiling,
Listening to the voice of silence
Uttering a quiet hum most appealing.
I have cradled helpless infants in my arms
Smelling sweetly of newly cut grass and fresh milk,
Their endearing smiles conveying a sacred trust
That feels in my mind like soft silk.
I have sat reading aloud to attentive children
Lost in the mystery of the imaginative word,
Moving stories about caged birds
And unhappy giants that wanted to be heard.

III
I have taught a multitude students
In many a classroom over the years,
Rewarding and punishing their work
With grades that often induced tears.
Friends have come and gone
Like the movement of the seasons and the tides
I find myself at the end of the road
A few die-hards my friendship still abide.
Now, an old man on perhaps my final journey,
I continue to walk down my road feeling spry,
Yes, my road, it belongs to me always searching,
Finding, losing, sometimes lost, never caring why.

IV
The roads we have taken make an impression on the soul
The fingerprint certifies our identity to the world
The soul print finalizes our identity into a complete whole
This is my life, my road, my pathway,
Pathless roads that have soothed my heart,
They have not left me forsaken.
Sun-drenched roads, moonlit paths, and finally
Twilight trails into the forest that lead to healing peace.

V
It is enough that one has lived,
To be forgiven and to forgive.
It is enough many roads to have taken,
Even if the journey itself leaves us forsaken.
It is enough to have built my own house,
Even if I lived there as quiet as a mouse.
It is enough to have travelled free-wheeling,
The roads offered inspiration that led to healing.