Thomas

I shall never
forget
his definition
of friendship

A friend
is someone
who doesn’t 
ask too many
questions

John Lyons

Thursday

Not much happens on a Thursday
           and as today is Thursday
I’m not expecting too much to happen
           same old grey sky same old sun
struggling to make its presence felt

I look at this way :
           perhaps Thursday is the day
that the stars change gear
           in preparation for Friday
when everything seems to happen

On Fridays we all seem to enter
           a new phase in which our bodies
and our minds are driven
           by a rogue moon that just wants
to party all weekend long

There are deeper questions
           regarding infinity and mortality
the definition of truth and beauty
           and the importance of love in our lives
but today is Thursday
           and to be quite honest
I haven’t the heart to go deep

John Lyons

Cold snap

So today it’s another cold snap
              Just when I thought I could
put away the woollens and settle
             into my summer wardrobe
I notice that the grey clouds
             are moving down from the north
and through another window
             I can see that the bushes are all
shivering and it’s strangely silent
             in the garden as though the birds
are having a lie-in on account
             of the low temperatures

I do love it when the sun is out
             and I do miss it when
it’s nowhere to be seen
             Of course we’re related
and there’s not a tissue in my body
             that has not been created
by the transformation
             of energies from the sun :
to say we’re practically family
             would be no exaggeration at all

John Lyons

Petal petulance

Pink and lilac tulips
             in a tall glass vase
an unerring beauty
             that will fade and droop
as the days pass
             as the hours expire

to think that in the heavens
             there are no wise stars
that in this universe
             so full of eyes
the world will relapse
             that love and tenderness
may be depleted
             by tides of naked sorrow
compassion for others
             withered in the cruel reign
of blind greed and contempt
             life cheapened and tainted
by the dark dissolving
             human heart

Roses red and white
             that draw blood on the thorn
fragrant flames of sunshine
             snipped from the bed of life

John Lyons