One Day We Will Lose Everything
By John Herlihy

Let us not forget that one day we will lose everything;
All things will slip through our fingers as a play thing.
Why do we insist on gathering together our possessions,
Accumulating material goods as our beholden treasures,
As if we can take them with us when we cross the divide,
Separating us from the awesome mystery on the other side?

Come to think of it, there’s a question to consider for you,
As you kneel down saying your prayers in the church pew,
Pretending to believe in gentle maidens and soothing harps,
Living forever in the eternal day, strolling in celestial parks.
Who could ever care about adventure beyond Heaven’s gate,
When the joy of perfection becomes your characteristic trait.

I treasure the milestones marking the high points of my journey,
From birth to death, it has been an adventure worthy of memory.
But a life is there for the living, not intended to be cast in stone,
Preserved in perpetuity right down to the slivers in skeletal bone.
I am much more than the components of my individual parts,
I am body, mind, psyche and soul cast together in a searing heart.

We take nothing with us because there is nothing we need to take,
Nothing on the other side that can compare with what we forsake.
Time has its moment, we live, we age, we grow old and finally die;
Do we think that our money and possessions with Heaven can vie?
For the present, I will ponder and take heed with my daily affairs;
I will stick to my guns and keep calm so nothing takes me unawares.

When lost with nowhere to run, that’s when you know it’s over;
When alone, you feel it’s time to lay down below four-leaf clover.
Hopefully, there will be a few items you can take along with you,
A chest of treasured memories, numbering much more than a few.
Oh, to lay my head on the pillow and into dreams just disappear;
As I walk thru earth’s door, I take nothing with me, not even fear.