Alone

John Herlihy

Sometimes we need to be alone,

Alone, I say, pared down to bone.

Sometimes we need to withdraw,

To allow sharp icicles to finally thaw.

Questions calling for answers swirl,

Turn inward, find the oyster’s pearl.

To savor the silence without chatter,

To find whatever truly is the matter.

Silence finds a way to cut like a knife,

Thru all the noise of a complex life.

One touch from God to soothe pain,

Under His protection, I will remain.

When alone, we hear an inner voice,

To question deeply, to have choice.

Knowing deep mysteries concealed,

To listen to a secret being revealed.

My inner voice speaks softly as I listen,

The words as stars in my heart glisten.

Sweet echoes of what I need to know,

The weave of shadows and light to sew.

To hear an answer to one question,

To find forgiveness with confession.

Whenever in doubt, retreat within,

Amid silence hear the drop of a pin.

Deep within, a sense of emptiness,

Seen in the mirror, a sense of fulness.

There, in the interior, totally alone,

At one with ourselves, finally home.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Saturday 1 March 2025