Neglected words

A living mirror of the stars
not quite—

we are not light reflected
just look into her eyes

see the life that glows there
warm flesh with fresh dreams

we’re all on a mission
to save the world

supermen and women
carrying the baton of love

and in the vast expanse
of night no star shines alone

and every intimate world
lit by another or others

so that the word world
means perspective

point of view
within the collective

every creation has
its fingerprints

unique and non-negotionable
and as light

that passes unimpeded
through glass the journey

through our heavens
knows no obstacle

therefore if you say love
mean it or be damned

John Lyons

Scraps

I need no eyes
I stumbled when I saw

fleshly pencils

one thing from itself
never turning
time’s fool
the mind’s peace

this composed wonder
of your frame
my eye is in my mind

tongue lose your light
love’s mind
the red meat on the rug

Out of chaos
this composed wonder
a world framed
in your image

Time is a fool
to leave so much
behind

John Lyons

Life story

Temper and belief
           as we move through
the transparent air
           and embrace
the solitude of the self
           Our thoughts

words and deeds
           are the particulars
of this life story
           the shifting colours
of autumn winter
           and spring with their
unique silhouettes
           and time that runs
through our flesh
           and bones from
the very first tick
           of the clock

We’re here
           to love and be loved
there’s no mystery
           each of us is a new text
in the world
           born of our breath

John Lyons

How it is

Poetry all in a day’s work
           that brings together
the particulars of life
           the soup boiling on the stove
the smell of freshly baked bread
           that eager hands will soon break

and outside snow is falling
           gently on the land
laying a blanket of silence
           and on the window ledge
resplendent in the winter light
           a crystal vase holds a clutch
of pale yellow roses
           that betray an act of love

John Lyons

Making do

What the sun has made
           and what we have made
from words alone
           a version of the world
cast in syllables
           shaped into poetry
and with breath
           the sound waves
the gentle rhymes
           that soothe the heart

What we have made
           from love alone
words with which
           to fill the silence
to record the song
           of nightingales or
the croak of crows
           to pick lilies and
contemplate the rose
           world of sunrise
and sunset and words
           without end

John Lyons