Author: irlandesuk

The eye of the beholden

irlandesuk poetry

Laburnum flowers

The eye of the beholden

There in the neighbour’s garden
           in Doughty Street just a few doors
down from Dickens
           the tall laburnam in full bloom
golden chain or golden rain
           they call it for the bright yellow
trifoliate flowers densely packed
           on the long racemes that dangle
in the warm summer air
           the petals curved upwards
and downwards to form
           a gasp of an open mouth
so as to entice the pollinator
           with a deep sigh to enter
and sex it up : beauty
           is in the eye of the beholden

John Lyons

 

Let that be a lesson

irlandesuk poetry

Let that be a lesson

The mind brought
           to its knees
by the body
           will rise again
when the soul heals
           Knowledge
only of the self
           but love steps out
of the comfort zone
           takes risks
will hazard a guess
           takes no no
for an answer
           just as the deer
flees across the hills
           leaps over springs
hides within thickets
           the hunter follows
in hot pursuit
           until the prize is taken

The mind can harbour
           only so many thoughts
only so many
           mixed emotions
but love has its separate
           ways and means
and will never
           accept defeat

John Lyons

 

What is there on this earth

irlandesuk poetry

What is there on this earth

What is there on this earth
           that is not of this earth
and what profusion of identities
           from a single source

Every temper and temperament
           under the sun is here
and all things cohere and coalesce
           and all things increase
and all things diminish
           all caught in the curve ball
of time so that age goes
           before beauty

and we are bold enough to ask
           how old is eternity
how wide infinity
           and question all
that the earth affirms
           knowing that our every step
will be counted
           that all our actions
will be judged
           and with every failure to love
our souls will be marked down
           for all time

John Lyons

Phalera bucephala

irlandesuk poetry , ,

Phalera bucephala

Phalera bucephala

Or buff-tip—
           a heavy-bodied moth
with grey forewings
           and a prominent buffpatch
at the apex : its hindwings
           are creamy white
but its thoracic hair
           is buff too

A night errant
            it rides the June or July skies
and is pulled but not driven
           to the light
At rest it resembles
           a broken twig :
the deadly laburnam
           is its favoured foodplant

John Lyons

 

A Monday revisitation

irlandesuk poetry ,

A Monday revisitation

To see as love sees
           wholly and completely
to be as love is
           disavowing all
enmity or division
           that would detract
from our humanity
           truth and beauty
fired in the soul
           all from a single flame
the smile the kiss
           the caress the same
all fed on the fruits
           of photosynthesis

That no love
           is ever lost
is a cosmic law
           of which the literal
sunlight in her eyes
           is living proof

To the meadow
           where often I am permitted
to return and find it
           transformed into
a lush carpet of dandelion
           and delicate daisy
overlaying the deep green
           such vibrant colour owing all
to the ardent light
           that lights our lives

John Lyons

A poem for Sunday

irlandesuk poetry

A poem for Sunday

To see as love sees
           to be as love is :
all that is enmity
           or division
detracts from our
           humanity
the smile is fired
           by flames
the kiss and caress
           the same

That no love
           is ever lost
is a cosmic law
           the literal sunlight
in her eyes
           is living proof

To the meadow
           I returned and found it
transformed into a carpet
           of lush dandelions
and delicate daisies
           their vibrant colours
owing all to the light
           that lights our lives

John Lyons

 

Pause for thought

irlandesuk poetry

Pause for thought

What is there
           to be said
of the cosmic love
           that unfolds
from that first moment
           exponentially
that expands
           into a universe
/or maybe duoverse/
           of its own
the sheer ferocity
           of the passion
that explodes
           into tall flames
that leap ever higher
           and engulf both lives
so that they blaze
           together
in a single
           burning pulse
of light ?

What
           indeed ?

John Lyons

The chain of memory

irlandesuk art, poetry ,
mindscape_21
Mindscape (oil on canvas)

The chain of memory

The chain of memory
           one step after another
from daybreak to dusk
           in the cold
or the sweltering heat
           the past barely behind us
we immersed
           in its consequences
but constantly edging
           forward to cover
or so we hope
           new ground
to free ourselves
           from all that would
tie us down
           or hold us back

Love tells us that
           there are no repetitions
that each moment
           is sacred
each kiss or caress
           devotional
and that tenderness
           is sometimes a gift
of parentage
           We live the fact
of our existence
           yet pass our lives
in search of the true
           innocent inner self
a cosmos unto ourselves
           with our own laws
and trusted properties
           and it takes quite a mind
quite a heart
           to grasp it
in its totality
           we who dwell
in the known country
           struggle with a muddle
of necessary imperfections
           of missed goals
and opportunities
           of failures and remorse
taking comfort only
           from the pity of love
from the hand and lip
           of another much like us
a brother or a sister
           a poetic companion
sharing in our humanity
           moved by the same rose
soothed by the same birdsong
           driven by the same desires

John Lyons

Undying love

irlandesuk poetry

Undying love

The rose
           and all the flowers
that follow
           in their season
that set the meadows
           aflame
and bring joy
           to the heart

and likewise
           love
in all its seasons
           however it should
manifest itself
           tireless love
the flame nurtured
           in the heart
undimmed
           undying

John Lyons