My nativity

What we celebrate
           is the ability to draw breath
consciously and to utter
           words in praise
of the beauty of life
           and the dignity of the self
in all that matters
           and in which love
is the bedrock
           of justice and peace

Though I may twist and turn
           in the early hours
asking myself when will it end
           I never really want it to stop
I mean the pulse
           that drives my blood
to write these words
           and to delight in acts
of knowingly being
           I’m so much more
than the sum of my particulars
           behind which I may be said
on occasions to hide
           but the warm vapours 
rise from my mouth
           as I step out
into this frosty morning
           anxious to salute
the first questions of the day
           But let me tell you this first :
I am completely allowable and equal
           to every act of love
if only you know
           where to find me

John Lyons