In Memoriam

This fine leafmeal tossed in the air
         by the wild west wind
will sooner or later
         settle into the dust
the dust of all things
         from which all things arise

He is gone
         against the grain but gone
albeit willingly departed
         leaving us to mourn his passing
on this harrowed midwinter night
         that howls at my window
with such a vengeance

He was a boy a man
         a husband then. . .
now gone to dust
         to mingle with the ash
of dandelion
         to dwell in that other place
where no winds blow

See where the damselfly roosts
         above the thorny wetlands
where the kingfishers hunt :
         there flows a river
out of Eden

Out of Eden
         out of place
out of time
         out of the unawakened earth
but in our hearts
                           always

John Lyons

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