-- NATURE TAKES NO HEED --

John Herlihy

Time always there but may not take heed,

Filling our nights and days even if no need.

The sunrise shined on our heads as a child,

Whatever the season, whether cold or mild.

Sunsets of old men seen in far off evening,

A soul in an old body, the light still gleaming.

Nature takes no heed of time or her demand,

Flowers bloom and wither, make no reprimand.

Waves of the ocean seek out some nearby shore,

Moving onward at their own pace gathering more.

Does the bud count minutes until it might bloom,

Do dust motes await light to be visible in a room.

Time goes on its merry way, but so does nature,

The tree stands stately without seeing its stature.

Nor does the tree feel any need to count its rings,

Leafy in spring, shedding in fall, its heart still sings.

Stars as big as Roman candles seem on the move,

As lonely as a prince who lost his ancestral groove.

Millions of stars above fell into my childhood eyes,

While I in turn ignored them and ran after fireflies.

A child in sweet innocence never thinks of a clock,

They run through the grass without a shoe or sock.

I like to play the tumbleweed and go with the wind,

Who cares about time if we in the landscape blend.

Ageless, endless, the great spread of earth is astute,

The voice of the ages may sing, but the heart mute.

Nature takes no heed of the time or anything else,

Its heart beats its own rhythm and feels its own pulse.

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(c) John Herlihy 25 March 2019