White wilderness

The tracery of bare trees
against the pale winter sky
and snowflakes falling gently
settling gently on the grass
and on the roads
turning life for a moment
into a white wilderness

To survive these cold months
on a wing and prayer
days of penitence
and dissolving bones
an image of the goddess
splintering the mind
the heart that she betrayed
remembering fitfully
the accuracy of her indifference

Those roots that lie
on the surface amid the ferns
the open nerves of our prehistory
The earth is a large town
though at times it appears
to be deserted and its empty trails
run back and forth to no purpose
There is no blame to be attached
to the failure to love but deceit
brings sadness and endless regret

John Lyons