A Second Draft of Redemption

Ice on the streets
       dance of stars in the dark sky
in this flickering universe
       seasoned by time
My steps are hurried
       I shiver
needing to be inside
       within the warmth
to curl up
       with a good book
or a good woman
       Catalysts there are
that will open the way
       to deeper dreams
and admit us
       to circles of paradise

Age drops away
       as does infirmity
when the emotions
       are suitably aligned
Sense
       the sense of happiness
that you can reach out
       and touch with the tips
of your fingers
       happiness that you can
enfold in your arms
       press tightly to your chest
seal with a tender kiss
       a commonplace
yet all too rare

Sun rise
       and the dribble of melting
frost makes its way
       into the gutter
Here we are
              still
not for the purpose of fate
       but to be
be it ever so brief
       a flowering
an unfolding of beauty
       of the word
and in our deeds
       love kindled
in those around us
       a chord struck
a numerical congress
       to bring a sparkle
into eyes that would
       otherwise brood
to prove consolation
       to those bruised
by the inclemencies
       of their own redemption

John Lyons