Nature’s Bounty
By John Herlihy

The whole of nature present and alive,
A fawn in the wild wishing to survive.
Antelope tongues licking salty stones,
The sound of night echoes dark tones.
The mist lay down gently on the leaf,
Ocean waves crashed against a reef.
The ice cracks to the sound of whips,
The butterfly gathers nectar in sips.
A bear heart beats in a mountain’s chest,
A bird heart beats in the robin’s breast.

The sound gathers willing to break in,
The silence holds its breath within.
Snow makes the world seem flawless,
Night makes the world seem lawless.
The sea roars like a lion and more,
Cresting waves finally die on shore.
I hear, I see, I feel the soul of nature,
The living world increases my stature.
Our world breathes, whispers, is alive,
I breathe in nature’s bounty to thrive.