Author: irlandesuk

Landscape with man

irlandesuk poetry , ,

I met Alejandro Oliveros in March 1977 in Caracas, Venezuela. A poet of great kindness, Alejandro was an ardent adherent to the poetics of Ezra Pound, and despite the tropical climate, his mode of dress was a kind of homage to Pound. The poem below, from Espacios (1974) owes much to Pound’s imagism.

Landscape with man

In the grounds of the park
A gardener collects leaves and trash
With his broom. Tired. Weathered
Face his hands hardened.

To one side between the leaning trees
The river runs. Narrow. Bone dry.

The man advances a few steps
Observes the clouds
Against the pink summer sky.

Uneven shapes hint at
The neighbouring mountains. Crops
and fields turn yellow.

Night descends. The gardener gathers
His tools and walks off. The wind blows.

Alejandro Oliveros
(trans. John Lyons)

 

Cosmology

irlandesuk poetry

Cosmology

Summer blooms have mostly faded
           but the bushes are heavy
with red and orange berries
           and down by the railway track
the cuttings are filled
           with canes of ripe blackberry
that most ubiquitous of humble fruits
           but so sweet to taste

And so I think of the complexity
           of time and the relentless speed of light
from which all life comes
           and the constancy of mass and energy
and in spite of it all the simplicities
           the slownesses that are somehow
built into the necessary equation
           the cycles of gestation that demand
patience as though in some way
           the universe wishes to put a brake
on its unstoppable expansion
           creating pockets of moments
to be enjoyed in tranquility
           a sensitive universe
quite clearly in love with itself
           or with its children at least

John Lyons

The kiss

irlandesuk poetry

The kiss

It’s about what endures
           and what does not
Sensations are momentary
           feelings persist and grow
over time though
           that is not to say that
one is of greater value
           than the other

a kiss cannot last for ever
           no more than a rose
but the love engendered
           need never die

Dissenters or not
           we are all pilgrims
survivors of the plague our bones
            bound for Bunhill Fields
no Rodin to set us in stone
           for all eternity

For a moment
           he pulls her in
and plants a kiss
           on her lips
Would he do it if each act
           were not precious ?

John Lyons

Sunday evening

irlandesuk poetry

Sunday evening

Complacencies
dreams a little

too easy on the tongue
drinking coffee

or biting into a sweet
juicy orange

catastrophe kept at bay
by building sandbags

out of books
and the ancient sacrifice

of knowledge
the hush hush

of toxic literary gossip
Night settles

over the wide river
and all is apparently

at peace as the lights
are dimmed

here by the Tower
where blood once ruled

stone has the upper hand
the flesh finally laid to rest

John Lyons

Space and time

irlandesuk poetry

Space and time

You think perhaps
           that these are
empty abstract words
           of no substance
but how much space
           do you really have
and how much time :
           more or less
than the rose that grows
           in the open air ?

We’re all astronomers
           so why shouldn’t we
worship the source of all life
           without which not a petal
not a kiss 
           not a single breath

John Lyons

Certainties

irlandesuk poetry

Certainties

I was raised in an orchard
           where there were apples and pears
and plums and peaches and cherries
           and seasonal soft fruits
I ran in fields and was drawn
           to the tall woodland trees
and to the margins of streams
           and rivers where the fish
swam in secret and the ducks
           and the swans made no sound

At night when darkness
           shrouded the house
I felt secure in my own world
           of certainties that were renewed
year after year
           I knew love and loved in return

And life was so solid
           you could take it
into your hand and know
           that it would never fail you
and it never did
           I have no one to blame

John Lyons

Jackdaw 2

irlandesuk poetry

Jack Daw 2

Jackdaw at my window
they say it means rain
I say it means life
pulse of the universe
mouths to feed
fledglings about
to leave the nest
survival of the species

How can there be ice
in a universe built
from a single explosion
the atomic heat
from that single event
from which all life springs
as though that single mass
needs to be reassembled
pieced together atom by atom
in a process we could call love

John Lyons

 

Jackdaw

irlandesuk poetry

Jackdaw

What is relentless
           is the pushing forward of time
See how the colours of summer
           have faded and how already
there are anticipations
           of autumn as the days draw in

the jackdaw at my window
           has laid its eggs
its nestlings have fledged
           six hungry mouths to be fed
so that they are big and strong
           before winter sets in

John Lyons

By the river

irlandesuk poetry

By the river

Where shall we dig in
here by the river
by the Tower
by the Bridge
the land and the tidal river
two worlds
taste the salt in the air
sight smell touch taste
sounds of the river
weaving in and out
of our lives
soul of the city
the gift of silence
of speech
that place where minds meet
where love is voiced
and unvoiced
the verse that gives shape
to it all
sense where sense
makes sense
where night falls
effortlessly
where day rises
in your eyes

John Lyons