my ( $second_word ) = $string =~ m{\|([^|]*)\|};

##</code><code>##

my ( $second_word ) = $string =~
  m{
       \|        # "|" escaped because it's special inside a regexp
       (         # start capturing
           [^|]* # some not |'s
       )         # end capture
       \|        # another "|"
  }x;