The essential poem

The essential poem
           one that relates
the clouds and the trees
           to an earth that would
otherwise be barren
           the words that enter
into the very dynamics
           of what it is to exist
and to be breathingly alive
           attuned to the beauties
of light that plays
           on the calm sea surface
or the breeze that ruffles
           the leaves of the forest

words that make sense
           words that draw colours
together and moves shapes
           into a moving composition
in which the subtle harmonies
           outlast the darkest thunder

the lover chooses words
           out of desire out of hunger
for the opulence of flesh
           upon willing flesh
and a kind of fulfillment
           that makes sense of the horizon
and the movement of planets
           of wheat raised from the soil
that feeds the necessitous soul :
           the essential poem is a song
condensed from loving energies
           informed by lip and finger
a tactile clairvoyance that knows
           from the softness of her breast
that life without love
           is utter desolation

John Lyons