How Time Flies

by John Herlihy

My, how time flies,

Right before our eyes.

I turned ten, I turned eleven,

Soon enough, I was thirty-seven.

When I looked in the mirror,

Such speed, such terror.

How to slow it down,

My smile now a frown.

How many years spent,

How much time easily lent.

Lent they were these fleeting hours,

Oh so brief, these fading flowers.

I turned sixty, then seventy-eight,

The heft of years held such weight.

I turned eighty, then ninety-nine,

With one last hill that I must climb.

When will this book finally close,

Soon enough, but nobody knows.

And when the sewing finally done,

This life tapestry will be fully spun.

- - - -

Copyright © John Herlihy

Saturday 15 November 2025