Revisitation
What will set the tone
of this day : the bright sun
reflected on the golden leaves
or the fallen leaves that the wind
has scattered across the lawn ?
What will set the tone
of this day if you are there
and not here where I
would want you to be
and your voice is only heard
remotely from afar ?
What should set the tone
of this day if I should shiver
as I type these words
and wonder what the coming
hours will bring if not you back
A park in winter
trees I have known all my life
tennis courts where I once played
the mansion house restored
the stables converted
into a public house
but little else changed
Here I spent a summer’s day
sat on a bench and asked myself
what it was all about :
young families came and went
and a dog chased after a ball
its owner had thrown
and now I have returned
and impossible to count
the leaves on the ground
or to guess the age of the trees
or the number of birds singing
as I go on my necessary way
John Lyons
