I lie awake in the early hours listening
to Patsy’s gentle breathing as she drifts on through
her dreams 
             Sleep is another country    Patsy is
another country      I remember
                    What does not
change is the will to change     I remember the birds
the empty cage     the day they escaped    As a boy
I played soldiers I played cowboys and I fought
to save the planet from aliens from outer
space     I know now that the aliens are within
and what endures when everything changes is
love.    Love.     Each one of us is another country
and what remains when all imperfections are stripped
away is love. In the house that Jack built that is
all he ever thinks about
                           and he remembers

John Lyons