Rhythem

I understand the rhythm now
It lodged in my brain
from when I was very little
and kept me awake at night.

I would lie in bed long
after everyone else fell asleep
listening
to the thump, thump,
thump that pulsed in my ears.

Sometimes it was so loud
I’d cover my head with a pillow
to keep the whole family
from waking
with thoughts of the End Times
raging in their heads.

They never woke though—
leastwise not from the pounding
in my ears.

Years passed before
I discovered it was my heart
tattooing a lullaby to my soul—
the gentle rhythm of the Earth's
song.