We who in winter

We who in winter
         wrap ourselves
in warm wools
         expose ourselves
to the summer sun
         with wanton abandon

Life in the particles
         that vibrate
in the gestures
         that carry us forward
and in the love that burns
         through us
a wildfire of emotions
         a necessary desire
to conquer and to consume
         to contain
and to consummate

Love is not lip-service
         it creates its own cosmos
its own culture
         as it propels the limbs
into essential action
         Though it thrives
in time and space
         it lives beyond them
and fears neither
         the turbulent night shadows
nor the cold crystal cloud
         that falls in flakes
upon the unwary soul

Knowing
         doing and being
are the lover’s
         perennial watchwords
sea        earth     sky
         water    fire    and air
elements intended
         for coalescence
wholeness
         out of singularities
and its disclosure
         comes from words
from the intimate fabric
         that binds the beauty
of the molecular rose
         to the melancholy thorn

John Lyons