The yellow roses of Texas
are drooping in the vase
the green leaves languishing
: dust has collected
and the colors are fast fading
They’ve done their job
a focal point of beauty in the room
a conversation piece
a reminder of the frailty of all things
but their day is done
and without ceremony
they will soon be removed
consigned to dust
the intricacy of their secrets
deep within the lush velvet folds
lost forever
John Lyons
You will remember a day
and you will remember a night
perhaps several days
perhaps many nights
You will remember
whether the sun shone
on that day
or whether the moon
was full on that night
You will remember a kiss
perhaps many kisses
out on the street
or in the intimacy
of our room
You will remember the love
that special love that never dies
a love that the days
and months and years
can never erode
a love woven into the fabric
of your heart
a love inseparable
from your dreams
You will cling to that love
as to your very life
because your life
and your love
are one and the same
John Lyons
The last leaves have yet to fall
the first flake of snow
though the temperature has dropped
and icy winds blow in from the North
In nature there is a fever of activity
laying in stores for the winter
The shorts and summer dresses have been
folded and put away for another season
and the world is changing gear slowing down
Yet nothing is lost and love is never abandoned
even though its expression may alter
Life is irrepressible and no note fails :
succcess upon failure failure upon success
Your kiss has been a bright discovery
and in the long silence the generosity
of your fragrant flesh will sustain me
I have nothing to fear in these austere times
the nakedness of your voice will keep me warm
John Lyons
Reposted with image
Chaste white orchid
its broad petals
as velvety fans
spread in mock
burlesque
to conceal
the modesty
of its naked flesh
of which
there is none
a floral dance
that is all show
: that is what
it lives for
it is for that
that it dies
beauty is
its only virtue
its elegance
a single word
no other needed
John Lyons
Welcome back the stars
of the cold clear winter sky
the full canopy of old friends
whose absence was noted
in the summer months
As the summer birds
move south
so the stars return
to their stations
and so too we gaze
at these points of flickering
frozen light
staked out
in the deep darkness
for that is the binary code
of our existence
our dark night of darkness and light
to have and to have not
to be or not to be
to contemplate the space
within our hearts
and the space without
Life is displacement
movement with or without
purpose in the course of time
a narrative cheapened
by the tinted pieties
of blind ambition
ennobled only
by the pursuit of love
John Lyons
I rise in the early hours
it’s dark and cold
I make a coffee
and sit at my desk
and wait for ideas
for a little poetry
to take the sting
out of existence
Through the window
I see a hawk
hovering in the distance
circling
in ever wider arcs
out no doubt
for an early morning kill
and I turn back
to the comforts
of my mind
I remember your kisses
and I miss them
just as I miss the warmth
of your breath on my face
when I wake by your side
when you wake by my side
but you’re not there
at the moment
and the day is dark and cold
and fresh ideas
are in short supply
alas
John Lyons
As if a ring
could open a heart
or win a hand
no matter the size
of the diamond
the number of gems
Love is the precious stone
the many facets of which
light glows within
love that girdles the couple
love that creates
a homely pavilion
of eternal dwelling
living breathing
molecular love
so atomically bonded
that it can never
be sundered
love that can cut its way
through all eternity
As if a ring. . . !
John Lyons
Be thankful for
the bright disk of light
that hangs in the dark sky
that puts us firmly in our place
gives us a clear perspective
as to our own unimportance
in the scheme of things
that punctures our vanity
as it demonstrates
how little depends on us
how the processes at play
are far bigger
than we could ever imagine
from which we learn
the economies of scale
even as we embrace
the broad comforts
of time and space
John Lyons
The tower
Steel and glass
tiers of windows
tears of windows
souls longing
for a cooler hell
lives outstretched
on empty promises
Here is a failed pattern
in which despair
incubates
This was the once
promised land
but the birthrights
have all been sold
and civic duty
has been watered
down to extinction
You cannot hope
to commodify the kiss
and expect love
to flourish :
from great heights
still the dust settles
the sheaf of dust
that is upon our tongues
Time assailing me
on all sides
past present
and to come
Salvation
may be found
in the word
but maybe not
John Lyons
After all the noise
the fret of the world
with all its tantrums
and constant demands
silence
pure silence
not a sound
not a word
not a murmur
silence
pure and simple
24 carat
John Lyons
johnjosephlyons 