Seen and unseen

How the colours change
           before our eyes
greens draining away
           to golds and rust
as the leaves dry in the air
           and detaching
cascade to the earth
           from which they sprang
that eternal cycle
           of life and death

And the eyes have it
           and so we look
to the light in another
           the rods and cones
in the retina
           of the one we love
and there behold
           our own image
the reflection
           that we project

A city is many eyes
           and many intersections
of sight that sustain community
           life that is always undone
until the final breath
           and inherent vision
even in the pitch darkness
           in which a red rose 
remains a blissful rose
           and a kiss a kiss

John Lyons