-- The Forgotten Virtue --

By John Herlihy

We go about our lives feeling as if in the know,

Our life but a turgid river that will forever flow.

There’s nothing stopping us, certain, decisive,

The facts lead us rightly on a pathway incisive.

True, we don’t know precisely how life was born,

No doubt a primordial pool from lightening torn.

True, we are not always aware of how to be good,

When we do wrong, we know well what we should.

True, we are confronted with mystery everywhere,

Found in the earth, in the sky, in the wind and air.

Until the day arrived I never knew to be at hand,

A moment of awakening not sure to understand.

Humility, the forgotten virtue, aged and on its own,

Born of an ageless faith the world has ever known.

My life upended by the force of unexpected destiny,

Surrender to God offered me the virtue of humility.

- - - - - -

(c) John Herlihy 5 October 2018