Author: irlandesuk

Eight magpies and a fox on the shed roof

irlandesuk poetry

Eight magpies and a fox on the shed roof

Eight magpies and one fox
           the birds have assumed
military positions
           they will not be intimidated
the fox stares at them
           he will not be intimidated

Perhaps he admires their plump
           black and white bodies
perhaps they admire
           his lush russet fur

The fox is surrounded
           but perhaps he is enjoying
being the centre of attention
           he has nothing to fear
the birds have nothing to fear
           It’s just a moment
in which neither side
           wishes to back down
but it will soon pass
           it soon did

John Lyons

What’s known in the memory

irlandesuk poetry ,

What’s known in the memory

Of all that passing life
           what remains
is what’s known
           in the memory : a river
in County Waterford
           flows through my mind
the heathered bank where I stood
           with my cousin Paul
under the summer sun
           so we cast our hooks
and watched as they drifted
           downstream

that youthful day the trout
           were too shy
or too cunning
           and they avoided our bait
and so we returned home
           empty-handed

but Paul
           who has passed
along with that day
           lives in the memory
and I am always
           who I was
going to be
           just now

My lucky stars

irlandesuk poetry

My lucky stars

Dark night
           of the winter sky
a half-moon
           a chill wind
foxes slinking away
           in the distance

I look up
           and count the stars
my lucky stars
           as long as
I can
           count them
they’re all
           lucky

John Lyons

 

For the angels among us

irlandesuk poetry ,

For the angels among us

Angels more common
           than one would think
they move among us
           silently and their silence
is their message :
           the aura of innocence
lambs that gambol
           and skip and small
children who love
           blue skies and open fields
in which to romp
           laughter on their lips

To attempt to describe them
           would be foolish
for they are better known
           by their actions
pure and unselfish
           Wherever there is love
the angels are present
           they are the filters
through which our words
           pass when we wish
to praise the beauty of life
           in all its truth

John Lyons

Winters past

irlandesuk poetry

Winters past

Back in the day of chilblains
           when all things froze
when my hands
           shook with the cold
The swirl and flicker of snow
           around the street lamps
the softness
           of our footfalls
as we trudged
           through the streets

Back in the days
           of innocence
before experience
           and knowledge blew away
the mystery of life
           the life that lay
before me
           the life that lies
before me
           the life in which
nothing but love
           makes any sense

This is what I struggle
           to say
I the lover I struggle
           to be

John Lyons

 

The life we build

irlandesuk poetry

The life we build

The life we build
in our memory
never-to-be-forgotten
moments of love
the days that will
stay with us forever
the simplicity
of being together
the hours and days
shared
and the words
laid down
as a record

Love
as we know
is not complex
it goes straight
to the heart
and all things
are less than love

John Lyons

Magpie takes a dip

irlandesuk poetry , ,

Magpie takes a dip

On a cold winter morning
the magpie bathes
in the garden bird bath

Three times I saw it
jump into the icy water
and flutter its wings
so as to wet itself
all over

and each time it jumped out
and sat shivering on the wall
fluttering it wings
in order to shake off the excess
before repeating the exercise

a plump black and white magpie
time carelessly beating in its breast
and who knows what
running through its mind
full of the joys of life

John Lyons

The ocean life for me

irlandesuk poetry

The ocean life for me

Although I love the countryside
           and love the hills and the mountains
I prefer to live my life at sea-level
           down by the shore where the waters
are never still and where it is possible
           to understand that the universe
is sound and light and that
           it is constantly unfolding

and since all the processes of life
           have their origin in the ocean
to meditate upon that mystery
           and to give thanks for the blood
with all its salts that runs
           through my veins and feeds
my undying passion for life
           and empowers my love for you

John Lyons

 

Before before

irlandesuk art, poetry
warzone_sepia_2
Window frame, John Lyons (40 x 40 cm, oil on canvas)

Before before

To think
           that there was
a time
           when the world
was a blank canvas
           before there was
language
           before there was
art
           before there was
music
           before there was
dance

Creation
           is rooted
in time
           love too

John Lyons

On the shore of Lake Nicaragua

irlandesuk poetry ,
solentiname
Solentiname, Nicaragua

On the shore of Lake Nicaragua

The light of the new moon
strewn across the surface
of the land-locked sea
the waters gently lapping
the rugged shore

the rise and fall of palm leaves
as the air made its way inland
our voices in the silence
celebrating the passage
from one year to the next

everything still to be made
every notion to be put
to the test
every breath to be measured
and put to good purpose

so much beauty to be held
in the hand and to be admired
so much love to be shared
and time at our beck and call
or so it seemed in those days

John Lyons