Ages

In all this poetry
           there is a yearning
for enduring love
           for an incorruptible body
for a commitment
           beyond word or gesture
for a depth of connection
           that transcends the physical

I too have seen the years
           the decades
that have simply unfolded
           for better or for worse
I have lived through
           fractured promises
and half-truths
           been taunted
by surface beauty
           and betrayed by numbers

as far as the eye could see
           orange groves
and flowering fields of sugarcane
           and a vicious dust
that settled in the lungs
           I have seen many things
and been blind to others
           have felt many things
and been insensitive to others
           but I ask you
what have you seen
           and known of the world
what have you known
           of life and love
what have you ever felt
           other than commotion ?

John Lyons