We Are Humans
By John Herlihy

I shook myself free like a wild animal,
Not quite sure where I found myself.
As if coming out of water fanning free of the drops,
As if feeling the howling gale before it suddenly stops,
I looked around to get my bearings and what did I see,
The earth door still opened wide as if beckoning me.
I had crossed over into another dimension clearly stunned;
I now looked back at what I left behind, as though shunned.

The memories lingered strong and came back in a rush;
Intense emotions lived once again as I began to blush.
All the sadness, the desire, the ambition there to behold;
All the weaknesses, limitations, and evils there to be sold.
Why didn’t someone tell me I would end up loving that much?
Why didn’t someone hint I would fall and walk with a crutch?
Amid the cries and whispers, I arose again to stake my claim;
We are humans after all and bear every right to that name.

We lived in a finite world; but we lived with a sense of the infinite;
We lived in a temporal world, but the eternal fell into every minute.
With every beat of the heart, we struggled to survive with nobility;
With every breath of the spirit, we endeavored to achieve tranquility.
Through the blessing of the rain and the enchantment of the snow,
We understood the seasons within ourselves to flourish and grow.
Through the passing of the years, we came to know some as kind;
Other years brought certain hardship and sorrow unique to mankind.

In writing a letter to humans still left on earth, I would have this to say.
Open your eyes, your mind, and your heart to follow the middle way.
Extremes lead to the outer edge and to the brink of a distant horizon;
They take you to places you shouldn’t want to go, with no sun arising.
Have courage and be the brave warriors that you were born to be.
Be voyagers into the deep, dark unknown, all the universe to see;
Be seekers after the truth, fly as migrating birds far beyond the stars;
Be true to your humanity, for one brief moment, human is what you are.