My Magnificent Obsession
By John Herlihy

Obsession is not necessarily a bad thing;
Its laser focus only obsession can bring.
Obsession brings intensity to my very door,
Drawing sustenance from an ancient lore.

An absence becomes a constant presence,
A forgetting becomes a constant remembering,
Love as dressed in the garment of sheer possession,
Hatred as an unjustified luxury in wanton obsession.

Imperfections morphing into the desire to be perfect;
Nothing is good enough, feelings of insecurity to afflict.
Then there is the compulsion of having absolute control;
The changing winds of destiny seem as another life stole.

The specter of death lurking around every darksome corner;
An individual becomes both the mourned and the mourner.
Captain Ahab obsessed about sighting the Great White Whale;
An obsessive quest that brought him nearly beyond the pale.

Then there are the great obsessions in the mystery of the mind;
The echoing footsteps in the darkness, whispers of another kind.
The eerie light of the moon that falls upon the sleeping face;
Awakening the sleeper into a world beyond the human race.

Finally, there are the obsessions that make a person bold;
Preoccupations that can never be given voice and fully told.
The writer’s obsession, the poet’s, the musician’s, the priest;
Dreams driven in all directions, North, South, West, and East.

There is one optimum obsession that I would like to forget;
The pursuit of happiness may more than likely turn to regret.
Let helping others to succeed be my magnificent obsession;
A truly selfless life may help to erase any lingering question.