Wisdom of the Body
by John Herlihy

I
The body contains wisdom with messages beyond compare,
Wisdom that sometimes brings us back from the brink of despair.
What does the body tell us but what we desperately need to know;
It thrills us, cautions us, and warns us with benevolent gifts to bestow.
The body’s hairs stand on end if a person thinks they have seen a ghost.
Goosebumps swell up on the skin when a snake appears in the grass.
The fear to give a speech often manifests as butterflies in the stomach.
The heart sinks like an elevator at the sudden death of a loved one.
The heart pounds to a quicker beat when overcome with gladness.
We shed salty tears of their own accord when overcome with sadness.
When nervous, the palms get sweaty and become cold to the touch.
When we become angry, the blood pressure rises, we know that much.

II
In our litany of examples let us not forget the wisdom of the senses.
The nose smells the odors of earth, grass, and rain from the fullness of the sky.
The tongue thrills with taste, everything from creamy milk to apple pie.
The sense of taste fills us to brimming with every experience offered on sight
The eye is fused with color that comes of age with inner light.
The ear echoes a sound that breaks the silence to give us a fright.
With attentiveness, the ear listen to astute guidance whispered to us in a hush.
Let us not forget the hand that reaches out to touch another until we flush.
In prayer, the full body prostrates to the ground as the trees bows to the wind.
The cupped hands reach up in supplication to God with every heart-felt whim.
In old age, we become diminished and bow down, burdened with misfortune and sin.
The body finally stiffens, turns blue, turns cold, when the spirit returns to the wind.

III
Love’s first tingling echoes in our attentive ears with the delicacy of wind chimes,
Then roams thru the corridors of the mind like a criminal about to commit a crime.
The pale face suddenly turns burgundy red, as rich color turns into a classic blush.
Before anyone knows it, mixed emotions flood through the body in a surging rush.
When love’s eyes lock, a jolt of lightning surges from the neck to the groin,
The willing heart appears ready to be taken by this thief in the act of purloin.
For the first time, two sets of eyes lock in a visual embrace to be remembered a lifetime;
They couldn’t look away as unaccustomed feelings surge thru the body feeling sublime.
The knees begin to tremble to the extent that it is difficult to continue to stand,
A single look can go through a person until the heart is someone else’s to command.
The feeling flows forth gushing in the heart like water splashing in a fountain,
Thousands of lights surge thru the body, stolen from moonlight shining on a mountain.

IV
The wisdom of the body contains a knowledge waiting patiently to be bold;
The mystery of the body lies in the telling of a narrative anxious to be told.