A Second Heart
By John Herlihy

I hear the sound of a beating heart;
Not near, not distant, only a second apart.
At first silence, then like steady breath in a rush,
Pumping and pulsating with the whisper of a hush.
A second heart like a second nature, flooding my veins,
The heart blood of nature creating livid reddish stains,
That streak between the clouds like a flaming sword,
The clouds gathered on the horizon of their own accord.
In reverence, the horizon awaits the descent of light,
Before disappearing completely with the coming of night.

Mother Nature has forces that forever pulsate and glow;
Her heart has the infinite capacity sheer mystery to bestow.
When lost amid the silent places on earth, I feel forsaken,
Until this second heart begins to beat, mine to be taken.
To fill me with all the mystery the universe has to impart,
To a mere human such as myself with only a simple heart.
In the vast deserts and oceans of the world beats a mighty heart;
In the void of the heavens lies mystery with answers to impart.
In all the deep universe, one story continues to be told,
A second heart beats with us whose revelations are bold.