When I think of Pollock’s
‘Number One’ I think
of Frank O’Hara’s digression
________________________
both are balancing acts
on a tightrope
and in Pollock one sees
the twisted narrative
almost impossible
to unravel as he tiptoes
across the ravine
on a perfect day for it
as Frank writes :
warm for winter
cold for fall—
do you see ?
John Lyons
This morning
light dusting
of snow from
the ice-blue sky
Black crows
passing to and fro
over the roofs
out in one of
the insignificant
suburbs
of the Milky Way
John Lyons
As the train shuddered out
from the shivering metropolis
to the suburbs
he noticed that the frost
was heavier on the grass
and on the brambles
and expecting to see
foxes by the railways track
and seeing none abroad
he thought to himself :
wise old foxes !
John Lyons
So much depends
upon a primitive heart
a simple pump
with two chambers
a miracle beating
within the universe
of feeling
of love
of poetry
and art
John Lyons
She said :
you think
you’re the centre
of the universe
I said : I do
I am
as you are
too
as we are
all
Look around
the landscape
the tall city
the ocean depths :
where do you
imagine
the edge to be ?
All eyes :
tongue
be silent !
John Lyons
To begin a song
a love song
I have only to think
of your eyes
of your lips
of your hair
in the breeze
down by the river
or the grip of your hand
as you take my hand
John Lyons
Where is the snow
that was promised ?
The wind is gusting
the rain beating
against the glass
but where is the snow ?
I was hoping to wake
to a white blanket
across the land
a precipitation : a rite
for one day at least
of purification
John Lyons
The fact is
no matter what name
you give them
all rivers
throughout the world
run into the same sea
John Lyons
Think of the ancestral rose
: how many petals
have fallen since
that first germination ?
how many fingers have bled
on its prickly thorn ?
Think of the world’s
tireless genealogies
of those that have flourished
and of those that are gone
John Lyons
Everything as simple
as it can be
that robin perched
on the fence
sings not for me
but for itself
just as listen for myself
we’re all
part of the purpose
the robin
you
and me
johnjosephlyons 