Heart Beats

By Hardarshan Singh Valia                          

In Memory of Victims of Orlando Pulse Nightclub

When our feet of many colors first pressed their prints

into the mud-cracked cheeks of the nascent Earth,

we were blessed

with the gift of Love,

causing our hearts to beat forever.

That Love sprouted within us,

thanks to the warmth of the rising Sun,

beneath the watchful eyes of the gentle Moon.

Bright red pigments of the rose petal

colored its lips,

silky specks of the carbon black

decorated its eye lids,

extract from a lavender bud

sprinkled its body.

That Love was

never meant

to be painted

with the brush of a gun barrel,

nor etched

with the edge of a knife’s blade,

or outlined

with the blood from a punctured heart.

That Love,

even if the music stops,

pulsates through

air, water, land

to be in unison with

primordial sound of the universe.

Hardarshan Singh Valia is an earth scientist who sways to the song of earth, recites its magical verses, and sprinkles its blessing to all. Besides contributing mostly to scientific journals, he has published poems and stories in River babble, Who Writes Short Shorts, Sage-ing, and Northwest Indiana Literary Journal.  He is a member of Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, Poetry Society of Indiana, Magic Hour Writers Group, and Write on Hoosiers.