The lover’s complainte

My heart has no complaint :
for the better part of love

I loved and was requited
Now autumn’s dust envelops

all the world along with seeds
amid the flaking debris planted

that will in time bring forth
new life new growth new love

fresh petals to adorn the bed
where every wanton kiss is granted

John Lyons

Lights camera action

Abstract they say
           suggesting devoid
of form or rhyme
           or reason
as though geometry
           were the only truth

Time is occasions
           and they occur spatially
there is no such thing
           as empty space
no such thing as frontier
           we’re all in this together
the welter of events
           energy and mass
and the stillness
           of the contemplative mind

This then is my geography
           a battlefield
an urban woodland
           back and forth
across the ocean
           highs and lows
a little love
           here and there
my DNA written
           in the stars
skin and bone
           of the sun

And as the wind rises
           I lean into the future
it may be a long hard winter
           but I will not be cowed
I carry Hector and Achilles
           in my blood
and to date
           not a drop has been spilt

I was once so young
           I had no memories
the slate was clean
           and there was everything
to play for
           lights
camera
           action

John Lyons

With corrections

My daughter Divina

Sometimes a daughter
           may be thirty years old
but not always
           as in this portrait
based on a photo
           taken when she was eleven
and even today
           she is no longer thirty
the clock having moved
           but she retains
that innocent gaze
           and she is gentle
and kindness itself
           and she speaks her mind
because she minds
           her truth and loves
to sit at a table
           and share a meal
with those she loves
           who love her back

John Lyons

New world

Here is a new world
           created by chance
as all worlds are
           depicted on taut hide
the coloured elements
           of a rare earth
scars in the cosmos
           in which it floats
its geometric perfection
           at odds with its universe

to believe that therein
           bees and butterflies exist
and seeds and flowers
           and what when two
people come together
           is known as love

John Lyons

Seascape

If you appreciate the smell
           of linseed oil then yes
there is a certain fragrance
           to this canvas
that may well linger
           when we are long gone

But what have we here
           a study of sky and ocean
and a glimpse
           of the shore’s anatomy
an imagination bound
           by crude physical dimensions

all of us ultimately born
           out of the sea and the stars
our origins staring us
           daily in the face
the cycles and the tides
           foam on the shores
of the universe
           more questions than answers
a mystery to ourselves
           who want only for love

John Lyons

The art of love

Two figures
           drained of colour
sepia with just a hint
           of blue

Sometimes more
           is less
sometimes less
           is more

Art is evocation
           it suggests :
when it seeks to impose
           it overpowers

in that way
           art resembles
relationships
           and love

in which
           tenderness
and gentleness
           are its strengths

John Lyons

No words required!