-- The Very First, the Very Last --

By John Herlihy

The very last lies in the very first,

The very first lies in the very last.

If the first happens, so will the last,

If the last happens, so will the first.

First note of first bird on the first dawn,

Triumphant miracles that witness first born.

Last note of the last bird on the last twilight,

Heralds first star, new moon, the first night.

Between first and last note, enriching melodies,

Listened to, heard, to inspire sweet intimacies.

Filling the abyss, silence sonorous with beauty,

Leading down life’s labyrinth of poignant mystery.

The first word spoken, the first word ever heard,

Mimicking the first utterance of the very first bird.

Last word spoken, last word heard thru eternities,

To echo rare meaning across a landscape of infinities.

We imagine that after the first, everything will happen,

The sure, sweet, steady, cruel world forever to turn.

We imagine that after the last, nothing will happen,

Candlewick burned down, a flame no longer to burn.

Dawn’s perfection of beauty preludes twilight’s decay,

The milky cream of dawn light heralding twilight of day.

The last flower of summer awaits the first bud of spring,

Last snows of winter as prelude to spring rains that sing.

Thinking of nothing, gazing at the vast sea, the vast sky,

Formulating first questions and answers to why, oh why.

Endless moments in the beating of the universal heart,

Eternity in the universal circle, never to break apart.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Monday 19 June 2023