First Ages
By John Herlihy

First ages still lie deep within us,
Magical because primordial and more.
First traditions still linger to shape our lives,
With trust in God and faith in our own store.
The gift of greatness extends far back in time,
Silence exists in that hour and still exists in mine.
Whispered insights heard from such starkness,
Revelatory words herald the eternal darkness.

Primitive impulses still echo within us,
Hollow inside the drum despite our might
Because the darkness hovers deep within us.
We are still fascinated by the glowing light
We continue to struggle with life’s mystery,
Because the secret lies buried within us.
We endeavor to unravel the vast unknown,
An unseen world that lies buried within us.

Brutal instincts still as familiar as they are old;
They rise up to the surface when they are told.
Despite thousands of years of human evolution;
Humanity still has not arrived at a firm resolution.
To the perennial challenge arising from first ages,
As if we learned nothing from turning the pages.
And what on earth is it we are expected to know,
To capture the secret before it dissolves like snow.

The silence now remains as a reverence with us,
Containing all the sounds that we have ever heard.
Sepulchral thoughts reveal their presence within us,
Diabolic love and unearthly hate with edges blurred.
In today’s world we wish to accomplish great things,
Without having any idea what the day truly brings.
We wish potentates and kings to meet us in person;
Innerly, we have no truth, our qualities only worsen.

We need to revisit the ancient mystique of first ages,
As darkness and light bled into a sea of time in stages.
Back to a time with instincts brutal and passions raw,
The world had yet to unfold, no events that anyone saw.
The earth was still unearthly, just filling empty spaces,
Without the thrilling attractions of lusty, exotic places.
The night of first ages witnessed stars in their first glow;
Let us visit those ages again, their pure memory to bestow.