Dream sequence

In this dream
           you and I are standing
in the shadow of palm trees
           we are eating fresh dates

beyond the fringes
           of the oasis
nothing but white sand
           under the moonlight

a white horse is tethered
           to one of the trees

you pass me a flask of water
           and I put it to my lips
I empty the flask
           and hand it back to you

there’s a narrow stream
           beside which
you crouch down
           to refill the flask

without a word
           we mount the horse

you take the reins
           and slowly
we head off
           into the desert

John Lyons

It never occurred to me

It never occurred to me
           that you’d one day
become a memory
           and that I’d struggle
to recall the many details
           of the all the times
the days and nights
           we spent together

In my mind I recall
           the humming birds
that so fascinated me
           that would appear
out of nowhere
           their iridescent plumage
the whirr of their wings
           holding them in suspension
as they sucked
           the succulent nectar
from their chosen blooms
           and the animated dance
with which they choreographed
           their disappearance

For a while we shared
           a common language
that of pleasure together
           and for a while I believed
that the love was genuine
           so perfect and so complete
that it could never possibly
           end

And those parched fields
           where the cattle grazed
through the long hot days
           and the white egrets
that accompanied their shadows
           feeding off the ticks and flies
that their ungainly shuffle
           disturbed

It never occurred to me
           that one day memories
would fade and that the mind
           would slowly wind down
into an empty silence and that our love
           would be little more than. . . .

John Lyons

Carcass of dreams

The old skins I have shed
           are all around me
call it my past
           shreds of my past
gathered in dark corners
           or under bridges
or in wide fields
           that stretch back
into my childhood
           Here where I worked
or here where I played
           where I kissed a girl
where I walked
           head held high
an amateur
           in love

The lips have gone
           the swoon in her eyes
her warm breath no longer
           on my face
The carcass of dreams
           litters the streets
Here I was superman
           I climbed the iron bridge
vaulted over time
           landed at her dancing feet
loved her
           as I have never loved
love her
           as I will never love
(how could I ?)
           again

John Lyons

Not blind obedience

Not blind obedience
           not adulation
or mere submission
           to your will
Nor expectation
           of perfection
but rather
           of all that is
human
           foibles included
moments of doubt
           hesitations 

A willingness to accept
           one’s failings
along with those
           of another
to coexist in a space
           that is loving
and forgiving
           never wanting
to better the other
           never judging
or condescending
           or back-biting

A love that transcends
           our inadequacies
but true to its strengths
           to its delicacy of touch
the sincerity of its kiss
           free from manufacture
one soul upon another
           in celebration

John Lyons

Without words

Loving you
without words
in the silence
in the near silence
in the half-light
as day breaks
as you sleep on
my breath
sychronised
with your breath
perhaps our hearts
too

Loving you
without thought
or just thinking
of you and of us
and being side
by side
in the half-light
in the near silence
wanting nothing
but to be there
for the moment
when you wake
when your eyes
open
and your lips curl
into a smile

Loving you
without words
hand in hand
arm in arm
on the streets
of London
or Budapest
or wherever
we happen
to be

John Lyons