The chain of memory
The chain of memory
one step after another
from daybreak to dusk
in the cold
or the sweltering heat
the past barely behind us
we immersed
in its consequences
but constantly edging
forward to cover
or so we hope
new ground
to free ourselves
from all that would
tie us down
or hold us back
Love tells us that
there are no repetitions
that each moment
is sacred
each kiss or caress
devotional
and that tenderness
is sometimes a gift
of parentage
We live the fact
of our existence
yet pass our lives
in search of the true
innocent inner self
a cosmos unto ourselves
with our own laws
and trusted properties
and it takes quite a mind
quite a heart
to grasp it
in its totality
we who dwell
in the known country
struggle with a muddle
of necessary imperfections
of missed goals
and opportunities
of failures and remorse
taking comfort only
from the pity of love
from the hand and lip
of another much like us
a brother or a sister
a poetic companion
sharing in our humanity
moved by the same rose
soothed by the same birdsong
driven by the same desires
John Lyons
johnjosephlyons 