Nothing Else Matters
By John Herlihy

I
Once upon our time, everything matters;
I mean everything, even my life in tatters.
I tried to jump through every fire hoop;
Journey to distant shores in search of a scoop.
As a child, I wanted to grow up quick enough;
As a student, I couldn’t graduate soon enough.
In maturity, I could never claim to be successful enough;
In old age, I knew too well I wasn’t young enough.
Some things caused me to unravel, others to tightly coil;
My emotions used to simmer on a back burner, then boil.
Everything under the sun had me whiny and whine;
I had no sense of balance and no inner shine.
Even the impulse of laughter took ages to shake loose;
Everything was oh so serious, even as I rode in the caboose.

II
Once upon a time, nothing matters;
Life brings phases when everything scatters.
I wore a cloak of detachment that fitted like a glove;
Nothing bothered me even if push came to shove.
Whether it be a sense of success or the amity of friends;
Everything seemed justified and true as penned.
I marched forth brazenly my head held high in the air;
The world my garden; I had earned it fair and square.
I was above it all, on the sidelines, out of the fray;
No one could convince me that I needed to stay.
I travelled, I roamed, I searched, I discovered;
Barefoot in the grass, some mysteries I uncovered.
Life was a game of gamble I was willing to lose;
Whether chance, change or challenge, it was I to choose.

III
Once upon out of time, nothing else matters;
The world a glass globe in which everything shatters.
In the mirror, I suddenly saw a person I didn’t recognize;
Woeful eyes staring back vacantly in preposterous guise.
I realized at last that the reality I believed in isn’t real;
The framework of my mind had lost its indelible seal.
Everything I treasured had the evanescence of mist;
The things I valued lost a fragrance I no longer missed.
Who could image how quickly the world could disappear;
A vision passed thru the eye of the needle, held most dear.
Everything else in life just fell uselessly by the wayside;
As the waters receded, all else just swept away with the tide.
We are made of soul and spirit, but yes, we are flesh and bone;
He rules Heaven and Earth, to Him belongs the Throne.