Secret in Love Song

Recognizing the beauty of a flower

or joy in the face of a baby

is not by degree

or pitch of exclamation

but by a sacred respect

only hinted at by glint of eye

or the smile held close in its brilliance

more a secret in the love song to God.

Fireworks express full freedom

when truth is of the heart--

for toll of ocean waves

crash long on shores

inhabited or not.

With the whack of a racket ball

catching the morning train

or love-making ecstasy--

each prayer is heard
by breath of heart

.