Each new day

It’s a grey start to the day
             I just saw two crows disappear
behind the row of trees
             that can be seen from my window
and I wonder what they’re up to
             where they’re going with such
clear unwavering purpose
             —who knows

In the distance I hear a train
             and I know that I’ll soon
be out and travelling on one
             heading into town and
into the thick of the new day
             I look at the forecast
and it says that the sun
             will appear around ten
this morning and I’m pleased
              : it rained in the night
but the sun will fix everything
             it will cast the summer flowers
in a beautiful glowing light
             and bring a smile to the faces
out on the street
             Each new day is a challenge
but what can you do
             except make the most of it
for the time being
             it’s all you have

John Lyons

Efflux of the soul

The embarrassment
of riches

that we call life
the shapelessness

of energy all around us
that we must harness

and transform
into guided growth

and beauty
to draw out purpose

from within the chaos
the passionate celebration

of being and loving
the intimate coalescence

of adamant individualities
the spiritual clarity of art

that rejects all icons
and is the ultimate

act of survival
there is no life

without creation
how else can we

bear to exist
within time

and space
and outwit

the calendar
of doom

John Lyons

The be-all

It is the be in being
in becoming

in believing
in belonging

in befitting
in behaving

in beginning
the betrothal

with the be-all
and the end-all

John Lyons

Feelings

It goes
             without saying
that feelings
             are facts as real
as the thorn
             on the rose
or the rain
             on the window pane

our thoughts
             our emotions
our hopes
             and dreams
our longings
             and our lusts

these are facts
             of life
that drive us
             to heaven
or to hell
             and back

John Lyons

The secret

You never know
             when you’re going
to discover something
             quite startling almost shocking
that takes your breath away
             and at first you can’t quite
believe it and when you
             finally do you wish
you’d never found out
             and you realize that
a little knowledge
             can be a dangerous thing
and that sometimes
             there is just too much
information and you could
             really do without it

but once the cat
             is out of the bag
it’s too late and you
             are stuck with it
and it can absolutely gnaw away
             at your brain until
you think perhaps
             you might go mad
if you don’t tell someone :
             well many years ago
something like that happened to me 
              would you believe
an accidental discovery
             that shocked me to the core
and I wish I could tell you
             I really do but I can’t

John Lyons

Days like these

On days like these
             we forget who we are
and where we are too :
             on these early days of summer
with unbroken blue skies
             and hardly a breath of wind
and everyone out on the streets
             so much more relaxed
and the parks filled
             with sunbathers and roller-skaters
and the rivers lined with paddlers
             and the air ringing
with the chimes of ice cream vans
             and every flower bed alive
with the vibrant colours
             of fresh blooms
and winter long forgotten
             and it’s so good to be alive
and not to have to think
             too hard for a change

John Lyons

Summer thoughts

Remembering the dappled things
             in the day and how beautiful they are
how the light seeks them out
             to pronounce their beauty
and to proclaim that the soul
             is worn in so many places
not just in the heart or on the sleeve
             : today is not a day for sadness
though if it comes today I will
             embrace it and nurse it through
the dark hours until it fades

Pain passes as does sadness
             and the death of others
is not my death or your death though
             we are all a little diminished
nevertheless I’m happy to count
             my blessings
I have seen generations
             of red admirals and common
cabbages pass before me
             and have lost track of the number
of dragonflies I have seen and heard
             hovering over ponds and rivers

The sun is in my veins
             birdsong is in my ears
and soon she will be
             by my side or in my arms
and by then I will have shaved
             and rolled up the sleeves
of my shirt and be fully
             prepared to share the immediacy
of the moment
             that is my plan
although there is no real plan
             is there

John Lyons