Innocence (poem) by John Herlihy on AuthorsDen

Innocence
by John Herlihy → (All Poetry by John Herlihy)
Friday, July 1, 2022 Rated "G" by the Author.

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S Some of my readers may have noticed that certain poems posted in the last few weeks have focused on a single word that is repeated throughout the poem. I am intrigued how we use words in our daily lives, powerful, momentous words, as if they were ordinary pebbles in a field of rocks. Here is another poem highlighting a single word and its deep well of potential meanings.

-- Innocence – John Herlihy Innocence A realm of purity with no pretense Lingering traces of a paradisal world Etched by God’s Hand in faces of infants Innocence A state of beatitude without compare We lived there once, no longer remember A steady heart beating in perpetual prayer Innocence No shadow in diamonds of light Shimmering from inner glow Like myriad stars in the velvet night innocence Children no longer occupy this domain They make mistakes so they might learn They have outlived this rare, angelic reign Innocence The guilty live in perpetual fear, veiled They know in their hearts they did wrong The innocent, no wrong, no fear, unveiled Innocence Like summer, innocence can never last Its virtue lies in the absence of vice Virtue earned once innocence is past Innocence Once lost, can innocence be regained Fleeting moments perhaps, the heart pure Only a restless mind wanders, now stained Innocence Slippery as snakes, innocent as doves Unsuspecting lambs among the wolves The undimmed trust of the one who loves Innocence Innocence accompanies us into the world Our innocence then melts as snow in May Its pure drops glide, modestly, silently, away Innocence Pure innocence makes shameful rumors blush As rank ambition trembles before quiet patience In not speaking, truth never shatters the hush Innocence The mask of guilt all our noble truths hide White innocence has no need of a mask In the face of infants doth innocence reside - - - - - - Copyright © John Herlihy Tuesday 20 June 2022

Reviewed by Jms Bell

Reviewed on July 18, 2022

HARD LESSONS CAN BE LEARNED THROUGH THE LENS OF INNOCENCE, BUT THEN, WISDOM CAN BE GAINED AND NEVER LOST IN ITS...LAYERS. INTERESTING STYLE, THANKS FOR SHARING, JOHN. LOVE, BLESSINGS AND FAITH...HIS+INSPIRATIONS

Reviewed by Odin odin@aflx.com

Reviewed on July 3, 2022

Youth does indeed supply the quintessential example of innocence. For me, though, the older I get, the more I allow that aura of purity to influence my behavior and the self-deprecation that accompanies guilt throughout our adult lives. You've written another of your often inspired reminders: it's not over til it's over --- and then for some of us, we know "over" is just turning the page to the next chapter of existence.

Reviewed by audrine max

Reviewed on July 1, 2022

it is always a pleasure to read your poetry that i sometimes forget i am tending our store. thank you.

Reviewed by Poets Soul

A beautiful poem full of wisdom and truth. We all start out so pure, but at the end we ask what happened. Inside we all know what happened. We lost our innocence. Well done my friend.

PS