rhythm and arrhythmia

i wake to the steady rhythm of rain
falling on the roof
tip-tap
light and tinny
then burgling and gurgling
along the length of the gutter
into the downspout
and finally splashing melodically
into the rain barrel
imitating some happy, hillside creek
and all of it soothing
and reassuring
like the rise and fall of your chest
pressed against me in bed
and the in-out of your breath
soft and warm on my cheek
like the beating of a heart
lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub
and these rhythms are sometimes mistaken
for constancy
but my own heart reminds me
of the unpredictability
and transitory nature of this life
with its
lub-dub, lub-dub,...lu......bDUB
that third, muddy, fishtail beat
like the determined beauty of the salmon
swimming his fierce and fleeting swim

*note/reminder to family--i was diagnosed with an arrhythmia years ago (technically called PVC in trigeminy) it's pretty common and not harmful---but it acts up once in a while when it needs to tell me something.