Poem: The Cycle of Beats

Many hearts beat to the same drum
Never wavering, never changing
Then something strange happens:


It only takes one second
one hesitation, one misstep
then the rhythm stutters.


Soft at first, it's hardly noticed.
Then as the seconds tick on
Others fall out of line.


The steady cadence stumbles
it's no longer dependable
it's not what it used to be.


Utter chaos reigns as
each beat struggles to be heard.
Then one grows louder than the rest.


It takes the others by the hand
and leads them to a new direction
charting a path far from the old.


More and more join in the music
swells more and more into a crescendo
overwhelms the old, transforms it.


A new and stronger way
As long as it lasts
until the cycle comes again.