Age notwithstanding
he honed his body
to perfection
so that he bore
not a single
superfluous gram
But alas too late
to win the silken heart
that she’d surrendered
to another in another life
John Lyons
The play of light
and shadow
on the canal waters
place of all ages
place of all beauty
shops filled
with sumptuous pieces
of Murano glass
And how the light
travelled through
the contoured colours
and how it rose
in your eyes
as you examined them
and how I loved you then
and how I love you now
John Lyons
Love too is a work
of the imagination
it constantly seeks
new forms of expression
in order to remain fresh
to keep the present alive
and not simply trade
on the faded past
It can be brash
and outspoken
and have real attitude
since by its very nature
it’s gestural
more in the manner
of a de Kooning
or a Pollock
than a Titian
or a Raphael
Yes I want all of you
the sweep of your strokes
across my body
your hair falling
into my eyes
my face drowning
in your tears
of laughter
your precious hand
gripping on to mine
as we hurtle
down the roller coaster
moving from the darkness
into the light
John Lyons
Love isn’t
blind
it just sees
what it wants
to see
And
I want
to see you
John Lyons
Cold and sharp last night
clear and not much wind
the full moon shining
a fine spread of constellations
Sirius very bright rising early
preceded by Orion
vast glittering sworded
chasing with his dog
In the calm splendour
of the night
I take a short walk
the earth hard frozen
a stiff glare of ice
over the pond
my mind full of her
of her last words to me
before the cold silence
The bitter wind
drives me back
into the warmth
I wake early
my mind full of her
the lost warmth of her love
the fond memories
Out in the open
the sun has risen
I sit on a bench
close to the woods
I bask in the pleasant air
there are bluebirds
flying about
I hear the reedy trill
of a robin
then other songs that rise
to a steady chorus
I stroll on past the pond
where the ice has melted :
it’s good to be alive
John Lyons
Adapted from a passage by Walt Whitman
Dignity in the face of loss
or the slow ebb of affection
when love slips away
and silence and coldness
take its place
She was a lady of flowers
an unending river
a city of the imagination
an early morning song
she was flesh and blood
and her eyes danced
before all she saw
the magical breath of life
she was the stuff of dreams
made real and whole
and a force of nature
she was where I always
longed to lay me down to rest
in her open arms
in her open heart
she was beauty
refracted through love
and for a while
I was hers and
she was mine
John Lyons
Let the record state
that there was love
true and honest
and deep and full
of kindness
and that steps
were taken
to defend that life
against all adversity
but words of promise
of commitment
to commonwealth
to shared purpose
are as nothing
until they are proved
upon the pulse
John Lyons
johnjosephlyons 