-- The Wisdom Nature Speaks --

John Herlihy

I asked the oceans and the seas

To speak of knowledge of the waves moving to shore.

I asked the grasses and the trees

To speak of the wind whose movements they adore.

I asked the mountains and the valleys

To hear of the wisdom of morning fog and dew.

I asked the first light of the dawn

To reveal the message of the song the birds knew.

I asked the lakes and the streams

To echo the rhythms in the harmony of their flow.

I asked the starlight and moonbeams

To whisper the insights the depths of the night sew.

I asked the brightness of the day

From where to find the source of such luminous light.

I asked the darkness of the evening

From where to find the source of the shadowy night.

I asked the candlewax and the wick

To speak of the beauty of the flame that sings.

I asked the dragonfly and butterfly

To reveal the origin of their hand-painted wings.

I asked the sun at sunrise

How it rises over the horizon and by whose power.

I asked the sun at sundown

Whether it felt sorrow at the passing of the hour.

These things I ask the artifacts of nature

And listen to their wisdom with no protestation.

The mysterious signs of nature all reveal

The wisdom of the universe bestowed in consolation.

- - - - - -

Copyright © John Herlihy

Tuesday 6 December 2022