Throwaway
The light in our eyes
forms constellations
that walk the earth
the dust of stars
shifting shapes
from the potter’s wheel
family ties and circles
friends and relations
random patterns
of coexistence
warmth light
love
John Lyons
Author: irlandesuk
Moving on
Moving on
That other life
is dead to me now
I have shaken the dust
from my feet
it’s hard to believe
that some of those people
ever mattered to me
the way they behaved
but the worst is over
and I have no regrets
happy days are here again
Last week from a train
on a narrow irrigation
channel cutting across
farmland I saw three swans
their long necks curved
they were preening
their feathers
it was just before sunset
and the sky was red
with shepherd’s delight
and she was beside me
her hand in mine
to all intents and purposes
love
John Lyons
Autumn hush
Autumn hush
So quiet here
you can hear
the leaves fall
the children are
back at school
summer games
are over
In the spaces
between the houses
time limps along
in the silence
of empty life
John Lyons
Simplicity
Simplicity
Poetry —many things
including a place
of repose
when we are time-sick
Soon the leaves
will come tumbling
down in cascades
borne on gusts of wind
raked up and bagged
on our streets
And as the nights
close in
peace will descend
and we will have
sessions of sweet
silent thought
and true value
will warm our blood
John Lyons
Bring it on
Bring it on
Life a timed test
anything may happen
or as the case may be
not :
sprawled on a blanket
or a towel spread out
on the sand
the chatter of children
and gulls in the air
and the sea gently
licking the shore
such moments of peace
fragments of eternity
time for this
time for that
and the leaves
itching to fall
to lay the boughs bare
a deep depression heading in
from the Atlantic
autumn sunsets
and then winter
Bring it on I say
while there’s breath
in me and love
bring it on
John Lyons
View from the Turner Museum, Margate
View from the Turner Gallery, Margate
How light the liquid light
lies upon the sea
as the sun sets
the silver shimmer
of tiny waves that roll in
from the distant horizon
candescent curls
that ferry brilliance
to the shore : calm now
on this end of summer
afternoon with contentment
settled among the families
at play on the beach
fine dry sand underfoot
and a rising tide and a waning
moon in the wings
Here Turner knew
tempestuous times
when ships were lost
with all souls drowned
: but there were days too
when the placid waters
held his eye and he saw
only peace and comfort
his heart awash
with the beauty of it all
John Lyons
Visit the Turner Contemporary gallery in Margate. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10am-6pm.
Indian summer
Indian summer
As though we haven’t had
enough sun for one year
not that I’m complaining
the best summer
in a long while
and the sun brings out
the best in us all
it quickens our step
puts a smile on our faces
and lightens the daily load
John Lyons
And so September
And so September
And so September
hanging there in the trees
bowed boughs heavy with seed
there in the tired leaves
that long to fall
September with its warm
honeysuckle days
its cold nights
birds gathered
in their thousands
on wires and fences and rooftops
under starter’s orders
: perhaps I too
should follow them south
September with its whispers
its intimations of mortality
and a whimpering mind
that traipses through
the city’s dusty avenues
that journeys out
into the frail suburbs
of my past in empty reflection
Dark season of silence
of enhanced fragility
of bygones gone by
all the pain and loss
and yet still the hope
the faith in new seeds sown
that no more love
will be laid to waste
John Lyons
The unkempt garden
The unkempt garden
After the long dry spell
the grass is threadbare
covered in tall coarse weeds
and towering dandelions
: a couple of chairs
that were overturned
in the fierce storm
have yet to be righted
The word that comes to mind
is neglect or abandonment
although it’s not as though
nobody cares
just that nature appears to be
one step ahead of the neighbour
who has assumed responsibility
for the garden
Frankly he’s getting on in years
so I don’t blame him
in fact I blame no one
that’s just the way it is
plant life is so rampant
under these climate conditions
it poses a real problem but I trust
it will all work out in the end
John Lyons
September seeds
September seeds
September seeds
borne on wings
dispersed far and wide
on the wind
or in the gut of birds
life encapsulated
waiting to germinate
to spring forth
into new shade
and fresh fruit
out from the soil
driven by the sun
to spread its light
to carry its standard
to the far corners
of the mineral earth
John Lyons
