Stones to sand
and bones to bonemeal
and latterly to dust

There is no refuge
from time’s onslaught
the very beginning
is the beginning
of the end

Oak outlives us
blackbirds and starlings
take shelter in the branches
and human energies
dwindle as a matter of course

There is however
much to be said for love
and how the engaged heart
takes delight where it finds it
and turns a blind eye
to transience and decay
and eventual silence

John Lyons