Love lucid

Love lucid
           in the light of day
so the year turns
           and the leaves
as feathers
           to the wind
out with the old
           There is a pattern
to our history
           and to the steps
we have taken
           eternal return
and growth
           Inchlings all
purged of ambition
           we adhere
to a prophetic script
           and what does it all mean
and where will it all end
           love lucid in the dark night

John Lyons

Lean into love

Whichever way
           the wind blows
lean into love
           it will shelter you
from storms
           and from yourself
lean into the warmth
           that curves in caresses
that is there
           when you need it

Lean into the eyes
           that say yes
and maybe
           and perhaps
but never no
           whichever way
the time flows
           lean into
the here and now
           of her arms
the silence of her kiss
           the beat of her heart
every which way
           lean into love

John Lyons

Autumn naturally

Let’s face it
           the leaves are dead
a gust of wind
           sends them up into the sky
and for a while they float
           as they come drifting down
to the ground
           and I see them
from the bay window
           and think that there’s
a lesson to be learnt here
           green gone to a golden rust
supple life turned
           friable to the touch
and all of this
           the way of the world
but the atoms are not dead
           and I know of no way
in which they might
           decompose : surely
they will enter the earth
           and be drawn up
via the web of roots
           to flourish once again
on a living branch
           one distant spring
that I doubt you or I
           will ever see

John Lyons

The powers that be

Somehow it all makes sense
           and by that I mean the matter of life
I mean that element of the universe
           that does not die but goes on and on
from here to eternity
           from the first three seconds of creation
to now and beyond
           the energy and mass of the cosmos
and how one is relayed to the other
           and life is the origin of life
just as love is the origin of love
           and nature that hunkers down
for the long winter months
           but as it does so is already
hatching a plan to return in spring
           jealously guarding its secret blossom
until the time is right and it can show
           to the world that it cannot be stopped

Resurrection is relentless because it is
           the ultimate means of survival
and there is not a single form of life
           that is ever ready and willing
to give up the ghost
           to lay down and die

John Lyons

Love’s secret meanings

It’s not just anybody’s world
           it is our world
shaped by our choices
           and by our actions
and by the accumulation
           of gestures and words
that jealously guard
           their secret meaning

Think of the flowers
           that have come and gone
richly-coloured roses
           irises and orchids
think of the meals shared
           along with stretches
of the river
           and airport waiting lounges

Think of all the streets
           where we have left
a little of our dust
           think of the love
in all its intimacy
           that nobody
but you and I
           have known

John Lyons