In the beginning

there was blue
         there was the past
there was the horse
         and the clown

and a white rainbow
         there was a word
and the word was blue
         an ocean that filled
the earth and the sky
         and all things swam
the sky in the sea
         the sea in the sky
man in woman
         woman in man
all locked in the kiss
         of coupledom

there were mountains
         and valleys and rivers
and wide lakes
         and fields in which
wheat grew and houses
         where bread was made
there were roses in bloom
         orchids in the backyard
there was all that was
         ever needed for life
and for love
         fish from the blue depths
fruit from endless orchards
         belief in the goodness
of all who are true
         to their word

In the beginning
         there was knowledge
but knowledge grew
         it enveloped the earth
it brought peace
         it buried the past
it rendered hope
         redundant and
brotherhood
         and sisterhood
soon became
          bywords

In the beginning
         there was love
but love too grew
         and covered
the face of the earth
         entered the genome
and so asserted
         its authority
as the essence
         of being
and its expression
         our second nature

In the beginning
         there were angels
who sang and gave glory
         to the human spirit
that conquers all
         when it embraces love

Observe the lilies
         of the field
pure in the light
         hearken to the sparrows
that laud life
         in their simple song
this is the beginning
         of the beginning

John Lyons