-- SPIRIT MUSIC --

John Herlihy

My mind as parchment paper, crisp, clear,

Sand-colored, empty, quiet as winter beach.

No one inside spoke, just silence held dear,

Bow strings held taut, just beyond my reach.

Silence interrupted by the welcome intruder,

First tentative steps taken on padded paws.

Dark shadows greet this strange marauder;

Sweet melodies now continue without pause.

Waves of rhythmic cords soon signal arrival;

They sound, echo, and then linger at the door.

Drift in my receptive mind to ensure survival,

To mount, crest, crash on my inmost shore.

The resounding cords now filled my heart,

Followed by the pitter-patter of little feet.

The music swelled, soared from the start,

All the moving emotions I needed to greet.

Piano announces notes with fragile sound,

A steady pitter-patter of rain imagined, felt.

As gentle rhythms seeped into soul ground,

Oceanic, glacial, as my inner moon did melt.

Between beats, silence interrupted by spirit,

The breath of spirit but a whisper in the wind.

The moods change from sober to sad to lyric,

Their sublime soul imprint no one to rescind.

The gentle cords now lingered toward the end,

Ice dripping, petals falling, chimes in the wind.

Spirit music accompanies me wherever I go,

Taking me places I would not otherwise know.

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(c) John Herlihy 4 March 2019