Live lips listen

Live lips listen
           or else all else lost
for love pays
           attention to detail
to the intricacies
           to the rise and fall
of another’s breath
           and this is no small thing

all else lost
           if no love
no purpose
           in the world
of rocks and stones
           and trees

animus
           the spirit
sanctified
           in the kiss
and live lips
           speak it best

all else dust
           if not driven
by the pure body
           to enlighten love
to glow with desire
           to be one and whole
one and all
           all in one

all else worthless
           without love’s arts
shaped from the wisdom
           of dreams rooted in our earth
and sketched in our skies
           all else unseeded silence

John Lyons