A couple of questions

What is beauty
           and who shall be
numbered among
           its gold standards ?

is it the slow burn
           of her amber eyes
the thin pouting lips
           or indeed the hands
and arms engaged
           in sweeping arabesques
creating endless clusters
           of unconditional intimacy ?

and love is measured
           on what scales of intensity ?
is it passion or depth
           or fidelity down the ages
is love the chameleon
           that never changes
steadfast but unfixed
           in categorical habits

it is always time to move
           stasis being the dreary
proclamation of life-death
            : love lives on the lip
on the tip of the tongue
           a true treasury
of tactile invention
           its joy is urgent
its abandonment
           forever unforgiven

John Lyons