It is the density of your desire
that I find most appealing
your body is not just an adjunct
but a warm receiving intensity
of flesh and bone that seeks
to cradle my affections
yes there is a sense of calm purpose
but allied with this is a passion
that knows no bounds
that seeks to envelop me
with a thousand arms and legs
all at once amid a blitz of kisses
John Lyons
At night
the clear skies
endless space
and a feeling
that all things
are possible
countless stars
urging us on
to better things
to better dreams
It’s the grey skies
that get me down
I feel hemmed in
as though the wool
has been pulled
over my eyes
once too often
these dull grey
unimaginative skies
a lethargic wind
a day within which
the day appears
to drift aimlessly
to a pointless
conconclusion
I could say more
but I won’t
not for now
John Lyons
Something
greater than life
may move life on
to something greater
imagine a rose
in full bloom
out of season
but adamant
that its beauty
should rise up
through the final
dark days
of December
Imagine an absence
curtailed out of love
imagine words
in their full flower
meaning exactly
what they say
imagine a kiss
that may raise
the dead
from the dead
love is that miracle
under this blue
firmament
there is no other
we need no other
John Lyons
Call it the necessity
and the flower of life
though neither of those
does it justice in the least
think of the moral qualities
present in our consciousness
think of all the choices we make
throughout our complex lives
and then consider the thread
of simplicities that runs
through the very heart
of all that matters
and know that that love
is all that matters
that is all that matters
that is all
John Lyons
The clouds of the sky
torn to shreds
by the bitter wind
grey clouds blowing in
from the East
on this the shortest day
the longest night to come
How well Yeats understood
the wreck of the body
the slow decay of the blood
and for so many years
knew only love unrequited
haughty disdainful love
that near broke his heart
until he found satisfaction
with one who cared
peace of body and mind
at last and an harmonious life
Faith and pride
he bequeaths to the young
and memories of love
the poet’s sweet imaginings
he puts to one side :
time indeed to make a living will
a testament to his humanity
the lock stock and barrel
of his life and the learnings
of his unbroken soul
John Lyons
There’s a sparrow on the wall
singing its heart out
a tiny sparrow that sings
all day long barely stopping
to feed or take a sip of water
it’s there every day
the same sparrow
I can tell from its cheery voice
to which I have become
quite accustomed
rain or shine the sparrow
is always around
to brighten my day
with its uplifting
little threnody
a tiny sparrow
cited in scripture
as a paragon
of insignificance
in the vast scheme
of creation :
a vile slur
more passion in that tiny bird
than many people I know
and you Lesbia my supposed lover
so far away
send me a cool message
just two dull words :
good morning
John Lyons
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
Down by Putney Bridge
day slowly descending
into darkness
river high
but not unduly
temperature falling
but not that cold
joggers back and forth
ducks and geese
on the causeway
first lights of the evening
watching the waters flow
thinking of you
wishing you were here
John Lyons
Put out the light
and put out the light
nothing metaphorical about it
light is life
light of my life
and lovelessness
a dark state
flowers that spread
their petals by day
that close down at dusk
Androsthenes
friend of Alexander the Great
324 BC
observed that the leaves
on the tamarind tree
opened and closed
from day to night :
the phytochromatic
properties of plants
that alter to feed
on red or far red light
the spectrum of love
that lies beneath the surface
that moves all things
Love too is process
warmth
enlightenment that feeds into life
nourishes the heart
summer goes winter goes
love remains
John Lyons
In the still night
a bright moon seen
from my window on the world
full almost
but shrouded in mist
and I think
what silence
before the stars were born
what emptiness
before the appearance of space
what an eternity
before the first pulse of time
a lightless lovelessness
beyond comprehension
without word or tongue
or creed or earthly ambition
pure nothingness
no birth
no exhumation
no mortal lullabies of pain
no narrowing lust for gold
no blissful palpitations
in the blood
no dust unto a dust
to return
no breathing grace
no thing
no no
John Lyons
johnjosephlyons 