-- The Secrets of Nature –

John Herlihy

The secrets of nature keep their own council,

Consulting among themselves as they are able.

No questioning or revealing, witnessing as a sign,

To higher realities in a grand conspiracy aligned.

If you seek clarity, nature never answers why,

Ask the wind a question, but hear only its sigh.

All nature’s signposts exhibit endless mystery,

Thru the ages never changing its enduring history.

Indeed, touched by blessing, yet the secrets prevail,

Magnificent panoramas that do our hearts assail.

Only a hint, a suggestion, or a luring temptation,

Remaining true to its mandate its only occupation.

The majestic mountains overseeing from their peaks,

The undulating valleys of glorious wild flowers reeks.

The foibles of humanity absorbed by brashness of day,

Tenderness of night holds those who slumber at bay.

Garlands of good works witnessed by the blue of sky,

The weeds of bad works the ghosts of the night espy.

The vast deserts in their emptiness and silence stilled,

Boundless prairies and savannahs by the wind filled.

We commiserate with those gnarled, bended trees,

We marvel the industry of those hard-working bees.

We feel awe of sound in waves of rolling thunder,

While flashes of lightning transfix us in its wonder.

The powdery figments of dawn spread dewy light,

While the darkness of night tempered by starlight.

Victim of tempestuous wind, the sea heaves and swells,

While the roaring of the waterfall its adventure tells.

The feeling of benediction in the sight of a rainbow,

Sea fires riding ocean waves bathed in moonglow.

The tempting allure of hope found in a desert mirage,

The intoxicating aroma in the perfume of a corsage.

We wander thru nature’s sanctuary as a wild child,

Our thoughts and worries subdued, our hearts mild.

Yet all the while, the secrets of nature do portend,

Disclosure of a mystery regarding beginning and end.

Ah, the beginning and the end as all the sages foretold,

Wrapped into the wheel of eternity, a secret never told.

One beginning, another’s end, the cycle always inspires,

The silent turning of the wheel fueled by heavenly fires.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Tuesday 25 October 2022