It’s Time
By John Herlihy

He knew it without real knowing;
The conviction grew without real growing.
What started as the faintest premonition,
Slowly turned into a shadowy suspicion.
Feeling less corporeal was what it was,
A surreal quality clung to all one does.
Realizing the world had no limits or fences;
Still seeing and hearing, but no outer senses.
His physical presence turned far less visible;
His future life began to seem far less possible.
He wanted to ask how many years were left;
With no one to ask, his life suffered this theft.

He quietly said to himself: Pull yourself together.
Don’t be always asking yourself if or whether.
If anyone said you only have five minutes to go,
That sounded like a thing he didn’t want to know.
One way is to live as if every day is on borrow;
Another way is to live as if there is no tomorrow.
He asked himself no questions to feel just fine;
Until one day, an inner voice whispered: “it’s time.
This time, he knew with a real knowing,
Emerging shadows grew with a real growing.
Lifted by knowing hands when no one was around;
His outer shell cracked and simply fell to the ground.