My Heart Is A Level Crossing

Does your heart stop
momentarily
when confronted by beauty
unexpectedly

Out walking on some autumn evening
a train intersects the low setting sun
crossing a bridge over the swollen river
our world’s perfection is exposed 
so clearly

And my heart stops
like a level crossing
my heart stops
in that moment

I take a breath
a deeper breath
reeling in that moment
let the beauty in
let the beauty fill me

Sparks crash down
from atop the arches
snow is falling onto cold wet lines
as the train slips back
into thick night
the dark of winter
lit by the flash-bulb of arcing beauty
and in that moment

My heart stops…

When this sea recedes 
and that wreck’s revealed
we stand below in wonder
the unburied spectre towers above
that always-waiting awe
returns to us
and in that moment

I take a breath
a deeper breath
drink the magic in
let the beauty wash over
let the beauty fill me

And my heart stops
like a level crossing
my heart stops
in that moment
as all the world
rushes through me…

[2014]

Thanks for reading.

Since writing this poem, I discovered this song which says what I was trying to say much better than I could: