Sailing the ungodly seas

Put aside the ice and snow
           the cold northerly winds
these incidentals are
           of no consequence
there is a hardness to love
           that will always triumph
over sentimentality
           after all love has its values
and they are unshakeable
           and they can be read
all around us
           and in all our literatures

Love is neither a means
           nor an end
it just is :
           all of us drifters
through this universe
           but love the sole fixed point
it is there in all eloquence
           and in all beauty
it is the truest form of expression
           and never flinches
in the face of adversity
           In a world full of devices
and subterfuge
           love is bare-faced honesty
and it is what makes
           cowards cower

Look to the fractious gods
           who defied Ulysses
but failed to bring him down
           Look to Penelope
her unswerving heart
           a tapestry for all to see
It is the betrayal of love
           that stains the soul
and makes hogs of all
           who fall by the wayside

John Lyons