We are into winter
       and it’s early morning
and in the distance
       there is sunlight
on the trees reflected
       in the leaves that remain
of copper and gold parchment
       soon to fall

I wonder about photosynthesis
       in the winter months
and what sense the trees
       make of their seasonal loss

This morning too
       I observed a cat sitting
on a ledge beside a light-
       coloured wooden fence –
the cat was adjusting its posture
       by studying the clear silhouette
of its shadow on the smooth slats
       posing for my photo shoot

It’s the integrity
       of the natural world
that I love – how one thing
       feeds inevitably into the other
the joined–up writing
       that underlies the script
behind the universe in which
       love is the fundamental law

John Lyons

Let’s face it
       the universe is about travel
matter and energy
       that simply cannot
stay still under
       any circumstances

Stillness is an illusion –
       all things are in constant motion
the atomic and subatomic structure
       of stone proves this
as though proof were needed
       Nuclear fission is based
on these principles
       and the power it generates
in some modest way mimics
       the Big Bang of our origin

And so the nuclear sparrow
       perches on the garden fence
and through its open throat
       one of the many songs
of the universe
       emerges to reassure us
to help us cope with the silence
       and dark nights of the soul
and thus our thoughts turn
       constantly to love
and to all the affairs
       of the restless heart

John Lyons

Today I will go into the woods
and gather sweet chestnuts
just as I did when I was a boy
on my way home from school

At home I’ll place the chestnuts
in boiling water
and when they’re done
I’ll peel off the tough shells
and allow the fruit to cool

meanwhile I’ll gently warm
some dark chocolate to which
I’ll add little cream : inserting
a toothpick into each chestnut
I’ll dip them in the chocolate
and once fully coated I’ll place them
on a baking sheet to cool

When later I eat them I know that
the taste will be of childhood

John Lyons

Yellowing leaves
       against a pale blue sky
a gentle easterly wind
       barely enough to chill
the simplicity of sunshine
       illuminating all things

Last night at moondusk
       I thought of you
your thin auburn hair
       your pale skin
your dream-weary eyes
       your ungainly beauty

Just now a sparrow sprang
       from within a thicket
irrepressible life
       each moment lived
as though it were the first
       and the last

rough odes hewn
       from seamless words
the formalities of the sonnet
       and blood that longs
to create so as to proclaim
       that through the turbulence
through all the trials
       and tribulations nothing
fades from this universe
       love least of all

John Lyons