Things That Matter
by John Herlihy
When I look around me my eyes feel like wool,
What do I see but many things empty or full.
Things don't exist in my life that could matter,
Other things exist in my life that do matter.
Not sure where this poem may finally lead,
Let us think carefully before we proceed.
First, let me consider a future full of hope,
A future soon to arrive pulled by time's rope.
Hope there in the mind unwilling to depart,
That soon seeps down to nestle in the heart.
Hope may be in doubt but it never truly hides,
There pulsating in the heart where it resides.
Second, let me consider the value of a friend,
A true friend I dare say always there to the end.
A friend who arrives our appointments to keep,
Someone to share my sorrow and with me weep.
Who keep their promises extended on borrow,
A lifetime friend always there as if no tomorrow.
Third, let me consider the value of my trust,
Encased in fortified steel that will never rust.
A trust between two people forever to bind,
A covenant that holds people closer and kind.
Such a treasured commodity exceedingly rare,
In this day and age: who do I trust? Do I dare?
Fourth, let me consider prime virtues to uphold,
Patience one of them that is beautiful I am told.
Generosity for another never to be fully reckoned,
Sincerity that from recesses in the heart beckoned.
Let us not forget the oft forgotten virtue of kindness,
That will surely lead us to the state of peacefulness.
In addition, let us consider a condition called solitude,
A state of being that offers the serenity of quietude.
A quietude that raps us in its warm embrace,
A return to our natural state that feels like grace.
The beauty of being with oneself, totally alone,
Reduced to bare essence like a sculpted bone.
Finally, let me consider the blessing of love,
With all the purity and innocence of a dove.
A love that captures us and holds us aloft,
The pulse of love with fingers tender and soft.
Love's intimacy takes us to places unknown,
The mystery of love, of shadows and light sewn.
These just some of the things that really matter,
Some – not all – of the things that really matter.
Each of us has a duty to carefully think within,
To fill our cup of held values to the very brim.
Let us not race about like some mad hatter,
Uphold and live all the things that truly matter.
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Copyright © John Herlihy
Wednesday 21 January 2026
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The things, the stuff we have around us, pales by comparison to what you've written and what is to be cherished.
Ron