These stars have followed me

These stars have followed me
           all my life and last night
in the black sky they shone
           brighter than ever
Strange how they bring
           such comfort just knowing
that they are there
           and all our origins are secure

Love comes from those stars
           the binding of atoms
of bodies and souls
           and all life driven
by their energy
           which is why our hearts
are warm
           when they are loving

Nothing much has changed
           in the ancient woodland
by the railway track :
           thousands of years
marked by the rise and fall
           of the same vegetation— trees mostly
and it was here
           in a small maternity unit
set in a clearing
           that I came into the world
my origins pieced together
           from fragments of universe
and all the time
           through all these years
I’ve yearned to live a life
           of the purest simplicity
to know and live love
           in its infinite felicity

John Lyons