Month: Feb 2019

The River

irlandesuk art, poetry
The river
The River, John Lyons

Three years ago

This is where we meet
            in the eyes of the mind
or of the heart on streets
            that the rain has swept
where early blooms
            have defied the season

We traipse through
            the long galleries
where feelings hang
            in frames and we examine
the colours and the textures
            of others’ lives
the long brush strokes
            or flicks of the palette knife
and in the hall where
            the bronze sculptures laze
a deep note sounds
            of young whales 
struggling to reach
            the surface

And all day long
            our shadows
are in hot pursuit
            and our tongues
never cease to babble
            and our convergence
has brought a new confection
            into the world
there is after all
            an ineffable art to love

John Lyons

Saturday in São Paulo

irlandesuk poetry , ,
Parque Trianon
Parque Trianon, São Paulo

Saturday in São Paulo

The soft winter light
             falls at a certain angle
illuminating the tall buildings
             along the Avenida Paulista

I pass
             by the Parque Trianon
noticing every shade of green
             every leaf sharp in the mind
I’m heading in the direction
             of the Conjunto Nacional
to hunt for books
             in the Livraria Cultura

I see parents of young families
             proudly walking
with their kids and a feeling
             of tranquility reigns on the streets
a sense of relief from tensions
             of the working week 

It’s a day to enjoy
             and there’s no need
to scratch too deeply
             below the surface

John Lyons

This is a translation of a poem originally written in Portuguese

Sábado em São Paulo

irlandesuk poesía , , ,

Sábado em São Paulo

A luz suave do inverno
            caindo em um certo ângulo
iluminando os prédios altos
            ao longo da Avenida Paulista

Eu passo
            pelo Parque Trianon
observando cada tom de verde
            cada folha afiada na mente
Estou indo na direção
            do Conjunto Nacional
para procurar livros
            na Livraria Cultura

Vejo pais de famílias jovens
            orgulhosamente caminhando
com seus filhos e uma sensação
            de tranqüilidade reina nas ruas
uma sensação de alívio das tensões
            da semana e do trabalho

É um dia para desfrutar
            e não há necessidade
de arranhar muito
            abaixo da superfície

John Lyons

Held in the memory

irlandesuk art, poetry ,

Held in the memory

Momentary flames
            a brief fire that flickers
in the mouth of a cave
            a time for reflection
and for expression
            Pollock’s hand prints
on the wall
            the colours mixed
with intention
            a scheme of things
in the mind
            deliberately executed

Not to leave a record
            but simply to tell
of how it is
            of how it was
that day when we walked
            through the rain
or when we parked our bikes
            and stood in the shadow
of Chartres cathedral
            and admired its beauty
Days that we will never forget
            until the end of our days
and our love held
            in the memory

John Lyons

Look to love

irlandesuk poetry

Look to love

What do you want to know
            what words do you look to
for wisdom for understanding
            that there’s nothing free from dust
in this world
            or that the turbulent sea
will outlive us all
            that the genius of nature
is inexhaustible ?
            Seed bud leaf flower
the mysterious genealogies
            of all living things
and natural selection
            and the truths that never waver

Look to love
            to the love in your life
the love that survives
            the day to day
the flesh bound fast
            to another’s flesh
for better or for worse
            Arrange your home
the inner sanctum
            be seasonal and fill it with roses
never mind the dust
            honour your heart’s desire
time is a luxury
            spend it wisely

John Lyons

Moonless night

irlandesuk poetry

Moonless night

A night in which I saw no moon
but stood in the darkness

and gazed up at the black sky
seeded with a million stars

visible to the naked eye
some still in their infancy

others dying a lingering death
and I thought of all that distance

and all that light and all that silence
and all the love that we once shared

and all that warmth that so suddenly
turned to cold disdain when you left

John Lyons

The first duty

irlandesuk poetry

The first duty

The first duty
            is to honour
the love we share
            to kiss and make up
to make amends
            for words unsaid
for deeds undone
            and hurt unmeant

Eternity condenses
            into kisses into smiles
into songs of innocence
            and experience
The first duty
            is to put the past
to bed
            to rise
with the lark
            to step away
from blindness
            and raise a glass
to trust
            in love

John Lyons

 

Fruit of the stars

irlandesuk poetry ,

Fruit of the stars

A sky
            full of snowflakes
obscures the stars but
            from their hydrogen
and their oxygen
            comes water
a marriage made
            in a molecule

Yes
            fruit of the stars
and chain of constant
            resurrection
that for which
            we were born
moving within the light
            at rest within the shade
a temperate life
            capable of noble deeds
energized from before
            the moment of conception
and measured against
            the inspirations of time
and judged
            by our capacity to love

Love
            that supreme fiction 
poetry of all that’s made
            bonds of flesh
bound in words and intoned
            in tender hymns
to our humanity
            cherished thoughts
that elate the heart
            and fire passion
in our blood until we attain
            the proud pangs of paradise

John Lyons

Revised

Undiminished

irlandesuk poetry

Undiminished

Is there anything more
            that you and I will do
other than live our
            silent separation
our flesh dumbed down
            shattered the rose of beauty
that we once shared
            the tower truly broken
the land laid waste
            with weed and briar
rife where the garden
            once stood

Is nothing to be learned
            from living breath
no lesson to be drawn
            from seasons past

Say rather
            that all is there
subdued but deeply held
            love poised to bud again
to spring into open space
           fresh leaf for all time

John Lyons