You think perhaps
that these are
empty abstract words
of no substance
but how much space
do you really have
and how much time :
more or less
than the rose that grows
in the open air ?
We’re all astronomers
so why shouldn’t we
worship the source of all life
without which not a petal
not a kiss
not a single breath
John Lyons
I was raised in an orchard
where there were apples and pears
and plums and peaches and cherries
and seasonal soft fruits
I ran in fields and was drawn
to the tall woodland trees
and to the margins of streams
and rivers where the fish
swam in secret and the ducks
and the swans made no sound
At night when darkness
shrouded the house
I felt secure in my own world
of certainties that were renewed
year after year
I knew love and loved in return
And life was so solid
you could take it
into your hand and know
that it would never fail you
and it never did
I have no one to blame
John Lyons
Earth
water
leaf
flower
fruit
seed
earth
water
leaf
flower
fruit
seed
John Lyons
Jackdaw at my window
they say it means rain
I say it means life
pulse of the universe
mouths to feed
fledglings about
to leave the nest
survival of the species
How can there be ice
in a universe built
from a single explosion
the atomic heat
from that single event
from which all life springs
as though that single mass
needs to be reassembled
pieced together atom by atom
in a process we could call love
John Lyons
What is relentless
is the pushing forward of time
See how the colours of summer
have faded and how already
there are anticipations
of autumn as the days draw in
the jackdaw at my window
has laid its eggs
its nestlings have fledged
six hungry mouths to be fed
so that they are big and strong
before winter sets in
John Lyons
Where shall we dig in
here by the river
by the Tower
by the Bridge
the land and the tidal river
two worlds
taste the salt in the air
sight smell touch taste
sounds of the river
weaving in and out
of our lives
soul of the city
the gift of silence
of speech
that place where minds meet
where love is voiced
and unvoiced
the verse that gives shape
to it all
sense where sense
makes sense
where night falls
effortlessly
where day rises
in your eyes
John Lyons
The flowers I brought you
green tight-lipped lilies
will slowly open over the coming days
Then their unblemished beauty
will be revealed in all its glory
and for a while the flowers
will hold pride of place
and be the centre of attention
when you enter the room
until one day before you know
their heads begin to droop
and the leaves curl
and one by one
the petals start to fall
John Lyons
There are those who deny it Mary
that our roots go back
to the stars
the earth’s roots too
and that we grow out of it
and that to return to it
is no shame
neither is it a defeat
but part of a process
Yesterday they were telling stories
of when you were a young girl
of your innocence and also
of your love of life
and the strength of your sweet
innocent personality
the ease with which
you related to everyone
they were telling stories
and we all laughed
and remembered you
with such affection
and I thought that though
you have gone down
into the earth
you are still part of us
and that only a part of you
has gone and even then
gone is not the right word
since you are still here
in our hearts and in our minds
and have nowhere else to go
John Lyons
At dawn
a single bird
a single song
not a repetitive refrain
but a complex narrative
impenetrable to me
though clear I assume
to its audience
perhaps a cipher
or a shorthand
an expression
of the beauty life
and the mysteries
that it contains
the diversity of this
variously voiced
universe constantly
seeking attention
John Lyons
All that endures
all that does not
frail blossom
of the blackberry
turned away from
turned towards
errors of action
and inaction
if there is a song
in you then sing
if there is silence
then keep your peace
we are whom we
discover ourselves
to be
but it takes time
in this day’s sun
there’s always room
for more love
before night falls
John Lyons
johnjosephlyons 