-- In the Mind’s Eye --

By John Herlihy

The mind’s eye,

Never really shy,

Ready to create,

A heart to break,

Landscape within,

Seen with a grin,

History tucked away,

Future come what may,

Memory takes shape,

Nothing feels fake,

My hand in Pa’s hand,

The world to withstand,

Like the wind that blew,

We did see what we knew,

To be there, in the mind’s eye.

What then did we see?

The swiftness of time,

The brevity of life,

The miracle of birth,

The finality of death,

The innocence of infants,

The bond of friendship,

The wonder of nature,

The intimacy of love,

The mystery of the unknown,

The secret of our lives,

The importance of honor,

The pleasures of the body,

The tenderness of the heart,

The light of the soul.

We laugh, suffer, cry

It all begins in the mind’s eye.

We seek, we strive, we yearn,

Seeds planted as we learn.

We are born, we live, we die,

All the while under heavenly sky.

We salute Truth that has always been,

We surrender but know not the time when.

We wait and listen for a knock on the door,

Waiting for the question that death will implore.

What have you to give if tomorrow never comes,

The innocence of childhood, nobility of old age.

Good works, time never wasted, as I turn the page,

Gifts placed in a box for safe keeping, nothing amiss,

My life wrapped in the ribbons of truth, awaiting bliss.

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(c) John Herlihy 12 October 2018