Month: Apr 2024

We go like the blossom

irlandesuk poetry

We go like the blossom  a slow burn to
extinction  consumed by the very air
that we breathe to keep us alive  Built-in
obsolescence you might say  So what is
the point of it all?
                         Is it to grow rich
and famous?  To be known for being known?
Who will read us when we’re gone? Who will care?
When I was a child I wrote as a child
Simple compositions to reflect my
simple life  All so far away and gen-
tle now  I loved the open fields and an-
cient woodlands or to wander down to the
wide grey river to watch the boats go by
The anglers on the pier
                             bating their breath

John Lyons

Paul Éluard – The two of us

irlandesuk poetry, translation

The two of us holding hands
We believe everywhere’s home
Under the gentle tree under the black sky
Under every roof on the fringes of fire
On the empty street in broad daylight
In the vague eyes of the crowd
Alongside the foolish and the wise
Among the children and the adults
Nothing mysterious about love
Proof of that ourselves
Lovers feel at home in our home

Paul Éluard

Translation by John Lyons

Nous Deux

Nous deux nous tenant par la main
Nous nous croyons partout chez nous
Sous l’arbre doux sous le ciel noir
Sous tous les toits au coin du feu
Dan la rue vide en plein soleil
Dans les yeux vagues de la foule
Auprès des sages et des fous
Parmi les enfants et les grands
L’amour n’a rien de mystérieux
Nous sommes l’évidence même
Les amoureux se croient chez nous.

Paul Éluard

All that breath

irlandesuk poetry ,

All that breath   From the moment of birth how
many cubic metres?   The Amazon
forest churning out life thousands of miles
away  The magic of symbiosis
of give and take 
                            Take nothing for granted
Gertrude sits within four walls composing
her psalms and Alice patiently observes
as she embroiders a fine linen nap-
kin  Abandon a garden and the house
is bigger   At dinner the beef was carved
as a kind consideration  Much plea-
sure was had on all sides of the table 
Outside  fresh flowers flourished in the warm
sunshine  A gentle breeze
                                        brought gentle rain 

John Lyons

Crystal tears on the Western Front

irlandesuk poetry

It’s a room hung with words   That’s its form
A cave in the mind  replete with ochre
images of man and woman   of wild
beasts etched on bony walls    A space in time
recorded for all time  A hunter’s tale
told to all who gather round the flame that
flickers in the fading light   Beauty and
truth where silence sleeps
                             and the moon’s face looms
large   and songs of innocence have been heard
and dance has had its turn  Nothing lives for-
ever   though nothing truly dies  How strange
that ev’ry loving breath denied the ache
of art must wither as it were upon
the vine  Crystal tears
                                    on the Western Front

John Lyons

Paul Éluard – Us no matter where

irlandesuk poetry, translation

The bird halts observes an invisible prey
He hunts he provides for his young
The wherewithal to sing fly sleep

To the harsh contact with the dense forest
He prefers the damp fields
Teeming with the day’s last straws

The fine web of life
Gently covers your face
And you hold in this basket
Our means our reasons for living
You’re as wise as you are beautiful
You attract the most beautiful words

We will talk tonight about us and the birds
We won’t listen to the long and sorry history
Of people driven from their homes
By golden-jawed death
Men with less pride than beasts
Who track misfortune everywhere
May they not appear quite naked then
In a haven of clarity such as our own

We take care of each other
Day by day we preserve our life
Like a bird his hatched form
And his pleasure
Among so many birds to come

Paul Éluard (from Le livre ouvert, 1940)

Translation by John Lyons