art

My life refracted

irlandesuk art, poésie, poetry

seascape

                   Seascape, John Lyons (thin air on wood)

I examine the data
the nails the hair
the skin the teeth
all of which are not
as they once were

I can read the signs
the marks of time
accumulated
over the years
and I know where
it’s all heading

From time to time
on my walks through
ancient woodland
I inspect the gnarled bark
of trees that were there
before me and will
probably see me out

It brings me comfort
and a sense of solidarity
it reminds me of my place
in nature’s spectrum

Separateness is an illusion
in a universe built
on the principle of solidarity
of which human love is
the most intense expression

John Lyons

Ma vie réfractée

J’examine les données
les ongles les cheveux
la peau les dents
qui ne sont pas tous
comme ils l’étaient autrefois

Je sais lire les signes
les traces du temps
accumulées
au cours des années
et je sais où
tout se dirige

De temps en temps
sur mes promenades
à travers les bois anciens
J’inspecte l’écorce noueuse
d’arbres qui étaient là
avant moi et qui probablement
me survivront

Cela m’apporte du réconfort
et un sentiment de solidarité
ça me rappelle ma place
dans le spectre de la nature

La séparation est une illusion
dans un univers construit
sur le principe de la solidarité
dont l’amour humain est
l’expression la plus intense

A chaos of colour

irlandesuk art, poetry

marble

Carrara – a detail, John Lyons (25 x 30 cm, oil on canvas)

A patterned chaos of colour
       on the canvas
oils masquerading as marble
       quarried out of Carrara
a flat surface to be curved
       around a tall column
nano dots of pigment
       bound to the supple fabric
paint applied
       with a flick of the wrist

Somewhere in there
       is the beast I have hunted
all my life
       the image the images
that lie beneath
       art composed according
to first principles –
       acrid smoke rises
in the mouth of the cave
       a community gathers
to feast on the spoils
       of the day

By the light
       of the leaping flames
let us leave history
       on the walls
let us record this day
       for all who follow
in our steps
       let us slay the beast
for all time
       let us slay time

John Lyons

Coffee on the brain

irlandesuk art, poetry ,

coffee_brain

Coffee on the brain
the morning fix
juice from the beans
roasted and ground
to a coarse dust
a planet around which
the addict’s life revolves
those who cannot function
without their regular shots

I have seen the plantations
the huge yards
where the harvested beans
were spread out to dry
in the tropical sun
the terraces of cells
where the slaves slept
the fine house the wealth
all built on the sweat
of so many others’ brows

John Lyons

Ash of ages

irlandesuk art, poésie, poetry

ash

Ash of ages
the slow descent
light filtered
through darkness
in the beginning
was the end
light burnt
to a cinder
the earth’s
fallen forests

out of the cauldron
these flakes of snow
and magpies
that know nothing
of life or death
foxes that tell
their time by
the sun and moon

ash of ages
the slow descent
of my flesh
of her flesh
pale red lips
that meet in love
life as it was meant
to be loved
love as it was meant
to be lived

John Lyons

Cendres des âges
la lente descente
la lumière filtrée
à travers l’obscurité
au début
était la fin
la lumière brûlée
à une cendre
tombées les forêts
de la terre

hors du chaudron
ces flocons de neige
et les pies
qui ne savent rien
de la vie ou de la mort
les renards qui marquent
l’heure selon
le soleil et la lune

cendres des âges
la lente descente
de ma chair
de sa chair
les pâles lèvres 
qui se touchent en amour
la vie telle qu’elle était censée
d’être aimé
l’amour telle qu’il était censé
d’être vécu

Fabulous artificer

irlandesuk art, poetry , ,

Flower_pot

                                  The gift, John Lyons (70 x 40 cm, oil on canvas)

Fabulous artificer
       artful dodger
visual charlatan
       allusive
illusion –
       shapes
out of all perspective
       a remembrance
of past things
       no rhyme or reason
school of primary colours
       what the mind sees
in the memory
       an image suffused
with chlorophyll
       the gravity of perception

How the light plays
       tricks of the trade
nothing new
       under the sun

So let it be
       a gesture of love
flowers bestowed
       an artless gift
to be hung in the heart
       of her home

John Lyons

A word in your ear

irlandesuk art, poetry , ,

snail

What’s in
       a snail ?
a name
       a shape
a notion
       of speed
an inner
       ear

cochlea
       helix
such perfect
       geometry
a plump
       tasty pod
filled with
       damp desire

an aristocrat
       among others
in its blue robe
       its horned crown
sitting upon
       a bloody throne

John Lyons

Faded flowers

irlandesuk art, poetry ,

vannn

Faded flowers, John Lyons (25 x 30 cm, oil on canvas)

These are the raw months
       of north winds
of incessant rain and snow
       trees stripped to their bones
faded all but a few 
       of the flowers 
of friendship
       when skeins of ducks
fly west
       in tattered v-shapes
while other flocks
       simply flee the country

and in my heart stillness
       a longing for sunshine
to warm the cold stones
       to soften the edges
of the brutal horizon
       I watch foxes dance
within circles of magpies
       their days one long string
of unbridled entertainments
       : these are the raw months
a time to dig trenches and wait
       for these times to pass

John Lyons

Corrected text

The way of the world

irlandesuk art, poetry

image_647e1c31-d147-4fc3-aa05-64a8336fe017.img_0413

Doors are
at the heart
of the matter
art’s space
a condensation
of time
of coordinates
Doors of perception
art poetry
keys to known
and unknown
territories

Roads or paths
to or from
what lies beyond
what brought us
to this point
what expectations
are held

How many doors
in my life ?
When one closes
another opens
or so we hope

Love is a door
into another’s
heart and or
a door open
to another’s heart
: this is the way
of the world
not how it ends
but how it begins

John Lyons

Newly revised

Riddles of energy

irlandesuk art, poetry
inferno
Cosmos, a detail, John Lyons (oil on canvas)

How did the light
       that you and I once were
at the origins
       of the universe
become the energies
       and the colours
of who we are
       today ?

Shapes and textures
       within a cosmos
yet to take shape
       the thermodynamics
of our love
       spelt out in equations
the riddles of energy
       and mass subsumed
in a kiss exchanged
       at the speed of light

John Lyons

On the night shift

irlandesuk art, poetry

shift
                                                   Universe, John Lyons (30 x 25 cm, oil on canvas)

On the night shift
       my mind is slower
more in tune
       with the stars

Look how long it took
       for the universe
to shape our world
       for the sea to separate
from the land
       for human life
to evolve
       for you and I to meet
to walk hand in hand
       across Tower Bridge

On the night shift
       my breathing is slower
I have been known
       to doze the hours away
to dream that you
       are still there
by my side and that
       time will in time
repair every injury
       to my soul

John Lyons