Out of infancy

Out of infancy
         into the world
into the web of life
         in which our innocence
is challenged by all
         the temptations of self-destruction
out of infancy into our dreams
         our doom-laden ambitions
our lovelorn days
         the hop and the skip
replaced by the nonchalant stroll
         ignorance replaced by denial
the eager child
         that always wants to know
usurped by the adult eye
         of worldly wisdom
blind to life’s true charismas 

And so to old age
         to the relics of youth and beauty
that hang loosely on the bone
         to time that shuffles
in the slow lane
         that stumbles in doorways
that cannot string a sentence
         is niggard in its energies
old men who haunt themselves
         poring over their past-best years
banished from the eternities of love
         trembling in their dust
out of infancy into the unknown
                   out of words

John Lyons

A moment of abstraction

Time moves imperceptibly
         through our days
through our lives
         but it’s there in our bones
Time is there in the daffodils
         and the roses
in the rise and fall
         of all things
in the coming and going
         of the seasons — but these
are merely the showy
         manifestations of chronometry
Real time is hardcore and very much deeper
         than the metered moments
captured in clocks and watches
         and every other device
these days under the sun
         that have made time so cheap

Time moves imperceptibly
         but with the stealth of a leopard
stalking its prey
         What became of all our hopes
and dreams what became
         of our ambition ?
What became of every joy
         and all our happiness
the warmth of our words
         the promise in every kiss
and the tenderness that saw us
         through the dark nights
prepared us for the challenges
         of even darker days ?
What became of love ?

John Lyons

Navigations

Put down your burden
           and accept the comforts of the night
Live for the joy
           of the breathing rose and ignore
the slow tyranny of the day
           your hand can turn nothing to perfection
the secret lies in your heart
           in the deep codes of your nature

Your soft flesh is the embodiment
           of your thirsting soul that longs
for moments of escape
           but only love can pull you
out of the densities of time
           that would embroil you
in a web of failure

The firmament is within you
           so too the stars so too
the tideless oceans
           that you must navigate
so too the only words
           that can bring you to yourself
This is the true discovery
           the continent that you contain :
disdain all other mysteries

John Lyons