Tender stars

and the origin
           of tenderness
there in the stars
           warmth and vibration
the dance of atoms
           and molecules

and how we identify
           with faces and places
kindred energies
           all bound
in the same direction
           the lines on our faces

drawn in time
           desperate always
to prove that we
           were here

and if we had
           nothing but love
in our lives
           wouldn’t we be
more than satisfied just
           making each other’s day

sleeping under
           the innocent
moonlight celebrating
           the origin

of our primal being
           that lifts us up
through tenderness
           and desire
into an eternal
           spring

John Lyons

One long question

Who is to say what life is
           breath as we know it
flesh as we know it
           the division of cells
as we know it
           and endless growth
and reproduction
           and when it was
that mind first entered
           the universe

and names were assigned
           and contemplation
became the order of the day
           and consciousness arose
and feelings of love and of loss
           and dreams bridged the gap
between sleeping and waking
           and art appeared
in the image and likeness
           and the tongue was first
set loose upon the world
           never again to be silenced

John Lyons

Celebration

What is there to celebrate
           when a love dies
when a love has nothing
           more to give
when empty words
           fill the silences
when heartbreak and longing
           stalk the streets
and not a finger is raised
           to ease the pain

The petals on the orchid
           fell one by one
marking time
           leaving a litter
of white flowery flesh
           on the floor

Part of the earth’s process
           of birth and death
that only love transcends
           with its rich textured
feelings and warm words
           that can illuminate a life
deeply if all too briefly

John Lyons

Beyond the new moon

Beyond the new moon
           falling
oak leaves and acorns :
           a child in her mother’s arms
smiled at me and beyond that smile
           a life I will never see

As the sun rose
           I heard pigeons calling
one to another
           but not to me
Temperatures have dipped
           not quite enough
to form a frost
           but that will come too
and the long summer days
           will be forgotten

We’re into the last
           of blue September skies
and beyond these
           who knows what winds
will blow
           or when

I want to winter in the warmth
           of her arms
out of harm’s way
           These words
these falling leaves have left me
           utterly defenceless
Words set in white space
           in convivial silence
that’s poetry
           that’s all I have

John Lyons

What goes around

I was a child here
           played here
gathered conkers
           in the woods here
did battle with
           my friends here
won so many games here
           and ran across the fields
till I was blue
           in the face

life is always as
           it promises to be
unexpected
           and the seasons
teach us inevitably
           that what goes around
comes around 
           and so it does here

John Lyons

Ramping it up

After a good night’s sleep
           I wake slowly
creep into my day
           one of light work
and gentle exercise
           always watching my diet
weight loss being
           the principle here

poets are no different
           from anyone else
and keeping the body
           in shape is essential
enough of this free verse
           I want to have a figure
as tight as a sonnet
           and as trim as a bird

John Lyons