A poem for Sunday

To see as love sees
           to be as love is :
all that is enmity
           or division
detracts from our
           humanity
the smile is fired
           by flames
the kiss and caress
           the same

That no love
           is ever lost
is a cosmic law
           the literal sunlight
in her eyes
           is living proof

To the meadow
           I returned and found it
transformed into a carpet
           of lush dandelions
and delicate daisies
           their vibrant colours
owing all to the light
           that lights our lives

John Lyons

Undying love

The rose
           and all the flowers
that follow
           in their season
that set the meadows
           aflame
and bring joy
           to the heart

and likewise
           love
in all its seasons
           however it should
manifest itself
           tireless love
the flame nurtured
           in the heart
undimmed
           undying

John Lyons

Stating the obvious

Beauty is born
           in the heart
and is
           as all else is
process
           from young
to late life
           even as the cosmos
had a birth
           was born—
into what
           heart?

And time
           in time
the unfolding
           of beauty
once again the rose
           once again my love
arrayed
           in all her glory

John Lyons

Till kingdom come

If or when or perhaps
           we have every right
to savour our uncertainties
           for there is no ultimate code
to define our being
           there is no definitive shape
to our lives
           we live in the making
of the moment
           in the seizing of the day
in the giving of all
           the love we have within us
and so we try and fail
           and try again
to find our step
           to find our way
to become the fullness
           of our own being

Oak and daffodil
           orchid and elm
have no such freedom
           to recast themselves
in a different mould
           each of us a species
unto our own
           living and loving
in trial and error
           so that the fittest
of our selves survives
           till kingdom come

John Lyons

A single white swan

A single white swan
           on the canal
up by Harrow Road
           as though it had been
waiting for me
           and that I just had
to admire the purity
           of its plumage
the supple elegance of its
           slender slow-bending neck
the necessary simplicity
           of its being in the world
without a care
           a promise of things
to come
           in good time

John Lyons

A portrait in words

Breath was his foundation
           he saw the world
through his mind
           and in his heart
and acknowledged
           the wisdom in all things
the lilies in the field
           the trees that shed
their shadow in autumn
           the lizard that crawls
beneath a rock
           and observes
—it is after all
           an observant universe
and a complex
           of simplicities
and simple contrasts
           even of extremes
but love mellows
           all things
and renders time
           irrelevant

How generous
           the earth and the seas
that feed us :
           let us use our breath
to celebrate
           and give thanks
for the mercy
           of love

John Lyons