The Vibration of Breathing

by LisaMay

What is a life?
This body of knowledge:
a package of skin, bones, hair, nails,
entrapped and wrapped
in layers of meaning from surface to soul.

Amaze in our brain:
mind how you go
through your twists and turns;
cerebral convolutions and confusions
to perplex your cortex, a puzzle.

Hold dear the heart: pumping its beat
our bloodlines flow, fluttering within
a curved cage of bones;
protected from the outside
but to be broken inside.

This rhythm of respiration
inflates our bellows, whimpers and cries;
cheering and jeering
the vibration of breathing
from first to last gasp, seeing stars.

And what of our senses and nerves?
Our pains and our pleasures;
our values, our language,
our dreams and our reason;
our leanings and learnings?

Don’t crawl on all-fours through the mire.
Before we exit our existence,
hold fast! Keep your spirit level.
We’re built to walk
an upright life.

Aspire.

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Author's Notes:

The accompanying illustration is traditionally known as 'Vitruvian Man', a drawing made by Leonardo da Vinci around 1490. The drawing is based on the correlations of ideal human body proportions with geometry, described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius. This image indicates the blend of mathematics and art during the Renaissance, demonstrates Leonardo's understanding of proportion, and represents his attempts to relate man to nature. He believed the workings of the human body to be an analogy for the workings of the universe.

I admire Leonard da Vinci very much. His curiosity led him to seek new knowledge and be inventive.

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You are a child of the universe.

The Vibration of Breathing

by LisaMay

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