Dream

On the day that the rain stops
           the wind will cease to abrade
the river surface
           and the waters will run
smoothly down to the sea
           the sun will rise in the East
and the morning will be
           warm and blue and by noon
the roses will have spread
           their luscious petals
and the buzz of bees
           will confirm their status
as exemplary workers
           in the field

                                 By the time
the sun sets in the West
           not a shot will have been fired
nor a word spoken in anger
           swifts and swallows will feast
on the evening aphids
           and summer lovers will settle
snugly into their beds
           and dream of life everlasting

John Lyons

What words

What words will do service
to my thoughts and feelings

my life stripped to the bone
I carry with me what I need

dreams yes always even as
time slips away and fewer

stars illuminate my inner sky
I cling to love and hope

As I hover above the trough
of reality : all my days

I have sought to master the gentle
disciplines of tenderness

seen within her eyes an Eldorado
that I could grasp with both hands

Love is one step after another
and there is no turning back

it is a face soft against my face
it is a word shared time and again

it is the ultimate undying truth
fastidious in its warm fidelity

John Lyons

Now and then

Even now as the days grow longer
snow has fallen across the land

Yesterday I counted empty birds’ nests
in the trees high above the railway line

Today they are lined with pure white snow
no place in which to lay an egg or raise a family

But soon the icy beds will melt away
and spring will usher in the mating game

then crows and magpies and pigeons
and more will begin to strut their stuff

and the air will be alive with love : then
the whole of nature will change its tune

roses in their beds will bloom and in a frenzy
the humble bee will make all the honey it can

John Lyons

Creation

Without us
what significance
the world

the pebbles that sing
on the shore

the rise and fall
of the tides

what commerce
between the stars

what loves lost
or won

self-expression
of the universe

riddled with questions
we are the answer

to our own puzzles
our doubts and uncertainties

discourse of the heart
of creation

our egos bound for glory
in the humility of dust

John Lyons

 Love alone

Let the past
           be sealed
for all time :
           we who move
through the day
           into the night
know the odour
           of cedar wood
and the scent
           of fallen roses

Two blackbirds perched
           in a bare tree
that nobody saw
           their song unheard
but never in vain
           life is its own reward
and poetry the voice
           of our true nature
and as we celebrate
           we resist the overtures
of age and decay
           and all the deceits
of empty thrones
           and failed harvests
love alone the marvellous
           necessity

Time will crush us
           if we allow it space
in our lives
           we must push on
into tomorrow
           fresh blossoms
fresh leaves
           a cleaner air
in the air
           the sun will ripen us
bring a fresh colour
           to our cheeks
there will be
           soft succulent
summer fruits
           and love will flourish
wherever we open
           our hearts

John Lyons

And so I turn to you

In the hollow depths
of the night I turn to you

what will we make
of this darkness

and as the day dawns
I turn again to you

how will we celebrate
the gift of this light

love latent in the soul
the deep breath of life

John Lyons

Epigram

Here in these words
           a piece of my mind
a fragment of thought
           rhythmically infused
literally handmade
           for your attention

John Lyons