-- The Miracle of Breath --

John Herlihy

Enlivening breath, how we take it for granted;

The panther surveyed the horizon and panted.

We breathe in and we breathe out, who cares.

The panther breathes deep, not a breath spares.

Out of a miraculous, invisible substance born;

From the omni-presence of atmosphere drawn.

A multitude of breaths that we take every hour;

Automatic, free-willing, we think not of its power.

The miracle of the breath a form of earthly praise;

In breathing in and in beathing out, the body prays.

When the voice speaks, it is the breath that tells,

Our innermost thoughts, as in the tolling of bells.

When we draw breath in, we fill the human breast;

A tidal ebb and flow never to be made only in jest.

We think of heart as the rhythmic drumbeat of life;

In the expansion of the breast lies our magical fife.

Indeed, with the fullness of breath, the mind soars;

The heart provides the emotions the mind adores.

Breath breathes air, while the earth breathes wind;

The soul breathes the spirit, a hidden treasure within.

Ask anyone who has ever lost their precious breath;

The fearful experience akin to the horrors of death.

Breath’s spirit – the soul - at death the body leaves;

At the loss of the spirit, only the lifeless body grieves.

And grieve it does, in its eternal winter of discontent,

Forever lifeless, forever stiff, not knowing what it meant.

Breath of the body exhales as the breath of spirit inhales;

The breath of life eternal found in balance of the scales.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Tuesday 25 January 2022