Earthly Cares
By John Herlihy

My time of earthly cares may be drawing to a close.
When exactly it will happen, no one can rightly suppose.
The parchment of life is yellowed and wrinkled to boot.
Why not save expectation, say the word and simply shoot.
Impossible, old Chronos would no doubt to the multitude say.
The Father of Time knows precisely when and where to say nay.
This leads me to thoughtfully reflect upon these earthly cares.
Possibly all these years neglected with many debts still in arrears.

Chance events happening in our lives as random as the rain,
Interrupting the flow of our routines with beauty and pain.
What if you were told you had only one more day to live,
One more day to breathe fresh air, one more day to give?
Isn’t that a real possibility with the power to interrupt time,
One last rhythm of a day, ending with one last unique rhyme?
The secret is to live each day of our lives as if it were the last;
Every day first, every day last; we live our lives, then it is past.