Year: 2017

Acrobatics

irlandesuk poetry , ,

Acrobatics

When I think of Pollock’s
‘Number One’ I think
of Frank O’Hara’s digression
________________________
both are balancing acts
on a tightrope
and in Pollock one sees
the twisted narrative
almost impossible
to unravel as he tiptoes
across the ravine
on a perfect day for it
as Frank writes :
warm for winter
cold for fall—
do you see ?

John Lyons

Winter falls

irlandesuk poetry

Winter falls

As the train shuddered out
from the shivering metropolis
to the suburbs
he noticed that the frost
was heavier on the grass
and on the brambles

and expecting to see
foxes by the railways track
and seeing none abroad
he thought to himself :
wise old foxes !

John Lyons

Song

irlandesuk poetry

Song

To begin a song
           a love song
I have only to think
           of your eyes
of your lips
           of your hair
in the breeze
           down by the river
or the grip of your hand
           as you take my hand

John Lyons

 

Snow

irlandesuk poetry

Snow

Where is the snow
that was promised ?

The wind is gusting
the rain beating

against the glass
but where is the snow ?

I was hoping to wake
to a white blanket

across the land
a precipitation : a rite

for one day at least
of purification

John Lyons

Genealogy

irlandesuk poetry

Genealogy

Think of the ancestral rose
           : how many petals
have fallen since
           that first germination ?
how many fingers have bled
           on its prickly thorn ?

Think of the world’s
           tireless genealogies
of those that have flourished
           and of those that are gone

John Lyons