Knowing the Secret of a Thing
by John Herlihy
What is the good of knowing
if you only know what is known?
Seek the intimacy of knowing
to know the secret of what is known.
You don't have to be a thing
In order to know of the thing.
You do have to be the thing
To know the secret of the thing.
You don't have to climb a mountain
To know that it is high.
You do have to climb a mountain
If you want to reach the sky.
You don't have to pick the flower
To know that it is beautiful.
You do have to smell the flower
If you want to realize just how beautiful.
You don't have to enter the river
To know it ever onward flows.
You do have to enter the river
To float wherever the river goes.
You don't have to be a forest
To know it has comforting shade.
You do have to enter the forest
To see rays of the sun as blade.
You don't have to be a desert
To know it is as hot as hell.
You do have to enter the desert
In order to find its hidden well.
You don't have to be a speck of dust
To know it disappears at night.
You do have to be a speck of dust
To appear shining in bright sunlight.
You don't have to be a honeybee
In order to appreciate its industry.
You do have to be a honeybee
In order to appreciate its mystery.
You don't have to be a ladybug
To know she is seeking her home.
You do have to be a ladybug
To find her nest under heaven's dome.
You don't have to be a dung beetle
To observe its determination.
You do have to be a dung beetle
In order to witness its imagination.
You don't have to actually be something
In order to witness certain things.
You do have to actually be something
To feel the secret of life it brings.
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Copyright © John Herlihy
Sunday 1 March 2026
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But once again, you've taken some poetic license like stating that dust disappears at night, when it is still there waiting for hot, humid air to condense on its cool surface and create a raindrop. Or merely part of the fog bank near morning.
Finally, the flower in the image is so beautiful and so delicate that I think it may be just AI generated and not really a flower at all. Am I right?
Ron