
St Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey
The poet knew
that true love
is indissoluble
neither can it
be faked
Wild flowers
and vines and weeds
come up through
the headstones
that line the boundary wall
in the grounds
of St Mary Magdalen
in Bermondsey Street
The names engraved
on these sandstone markers
long gone to dust
and dead words hang
in the silence
What of the murmur
of dreams
what of the curious
systole and diastole
the beating and pounding
of blood in the veins
what of the cries
and the laughter
the husky pantings
of these lovers
now laid to rest ?
The poet knows
in the senses of his body
and in every limb
and in every breath
that love
is the pulse of life
John Lyons
The matrix painting may be hung in any of its four orientations. See Matrix in yellow and umber