Tender stars

and the origin
           of tenderness
there in the stars
           warmth and vibration
the dance of atoms
           and molecules

and how we identify
           with faces and places
kindred energies
           all bound
in the same direction
           the lines on our faces

drawn in time
           desperate always
to prove that we
           were here

and if we had
           nothing but love
in our lives
           wouldn’t we be
more than satisfied just
           making each other’s day

sleeping under
           the innocent
moonlight celebrating
           the origin

of our primal being
           that lifts us up
through tenderness
           and desire
into an eternal
           spring

John Lyons