Just before first light
robins blackbirds and thrushes
start to thread the air
with their gentle melodies
their pre-dawn chorus is soon joined
by wood pigeons by wrens and warblers
while great tits and blue tits
sparrows and finches
only add their voices
when there’s light enough
for them to see
John Lyons
Crocuses
poppies
morning glories
open as the temperature
increases during the day
and close as the day
gets cooler
in the late afternoon
The four-o’clock flower
closes in the morning
and opens again
late in the afternoon
right around
four o’clock
Moonflower
night-blooming jasmine
evening primrose
angel’s trumpet
night phlox
and night-blooming cereus
open only at dusk
or at night
There is more to flowers
than meets the eye
just as there is
in love
and whether she loves me
or loves me not
John Lyons
On black, John Lyons (10 x 12 in, oil on canvas)
Out of the darkness
comes a cascade
of colour
of light
of love
here where words
flow in streams
all the energy
of the universe
finds expression
art with its visual
voice and poetry
with its glowing
sequences of breath
heat and passion
a knife taken
to the cold canvas
out of it comes faith
and the hope too
that our lives
may be worth
remembering
forever
John Lyons
Tiny dancer, John Lyons (40 x 40 cm, oil on canvas)
Tiny dancer
a shape that shifts
effortlessly
through the air
Over land or sea
a silhouette gliding
through space
The exuberance
of movement
to time and yet
timeless
We hear the music
in our imagination
the dancer advances
in leaps and bounds
under desert blue skies
All is revealed
where masks are worn
where love never tires
and faith is never lost
John Lyons
The day dense with thought
with feelings and memories
: a grey sky is about to rain
over our heads
In the rear garden
a pile of earth
recently turned
has been drilled
by worms to let in
the air
and wild grasses
have grown tall
and in the midst
five poppies have flowered
So many miles from Flanders
I see their blood-red blooms
swaying gently
in the breeze
John Lyons
La journée pleine de pensées
La journée pleine de pensées
de sentiments et de souvenirs
: un ciel gris est sur le point
de pleuvoir sur nos têtes
Dans le jardin arrière
un tas de terre récemment retournée
a été foré par des vers
pour laisser entrer l’air
et les herbes sauvages
ont grandi
et au milieu cinq coquelicots
se sont épanouis
Tant de kilomètres de la Flandre
je vois leurs fleurs rouge-sang
se balancer doucement
dans la brise
At night in my dreams
I walk through fields of stars
the origin of all things
is here but nothing ever ends
I dream that birds in flight
weave in and out among the galaxies
pure existence they have no notion
of distance nor of time
Paul Verlaine wrote of the vast
tender sky that settles upon us
For all its fire and heat the universe
contrived to create the sparrow’s
breath and the lips of a child
the smile on lovers’ faces
and a sense of place and purpose
in my heart : a sense of peace
John Lyons
Por campos de estrellas
Por la noche en mis sueños
camino por campos de estrellas
el origen de todas las cosas
está aquí pero nada termina nunca
Sueño que los pájaros en vuelo
entran y salen entre las galaxias
pura existencia no tienen noción
de distancia ni de tiempo
Paul Verlaine escribió sobre el vasto cielo
tierno que se posa sobre nosotros
A pesar de todo su fuego y calor
el universo se las ingenió para crear
el aliento del gorrión y los labios de un niño.
la sonrisa en los rostros de los amantes
y un sentido de lugar y propósito
en mi corazón : una sensación de paz
John Lyons
Beauty of lip
beauty of gesture
of word and deed
Early summer days
the sap has risen
the trees are in leaf
and everywhere seeds
That the purpose of life
is life :
more and more of it
Why the nightingale sings
why the dove coos
why the bulls in the fields
defend the territory
that they want to cover
Beauty of hand in hand
beauty of lovers’ eyes
locked in love
John Lyons
Porque o rouxinol canta
Beleza de lábios
beleza do gesto
de palavra e ação
Primeiros dias de verão
a seiva subiu
as árvores estão em folha
e em toda parte sementes
Que o propósito da vida
é a vida:
mais e mais disso
Porque o rouxinol canta
porque a pomba arrulha
porque os touros nos campos
defendem o território
que eles querem cobrir
beleza de mãos dadas
beleza dos olhos dos amantes
travados no amor
Nous cultivons les étoiles
en reconnaissance de la terre
qu’elles nous ont donnée
le sol minéral à partir duquel
toutes choses poussent
les plantes et les arbres
qui sont notre force vitale
l’univers symbiotique
qui nous lie au chant du moineau
au baryton profond de la baleine
aux premiers sanglots d’un nouveau-né
qui quitte le ventre de sa mère
Et il n’y a pas une seule forme de beauté
supérieure à toutes les autres
étant donné que la beauté est la vérité
essentielle omniprésente de la création
et que l’amour est son expression
la plus profonde
John Lyons
Love’s deepest expression
We cultivate the stars
in recognition of the earth
that they have given us
the mineral soil out of which
all things grow
the plants and trees
that are our very lifeblood
the symbiotic universe
that binds us
to the sparrow’s song
to the whale’s deep baritone
to the first sobs of a newborn
as it leaves its mother’s womb
and there is no one form of beauty
superior to all the others
given that beauty is the essential
omnipresent truth of creation
and love is its deepest expression
We cultivate the stars
in recognition of the earth
that they have given us
the mineral soil out of which
all things grow
the plants and trees
that are our very lifeblood
the symbiotic universe
that binds us
to the sparrow’s song
to the whale’s deep baritone
to the first sobs of a newborn
as it leaves its mother’s womb
and there is no one form of beauty
superior to all the others
given that beauty is the essential
omnipresent truth of creation
and love is its deepest expression
John Lyons
L’expression la plus profonde de l’amour
Nous cultivons les étoiles
en reconnaissance de la terre
qu’elles nous ont donnée
le sol minéral à partir duquel
toutes choses poussent
les plantes et les arbres
qui sont notre force vitale
l’univers symbiotique
qui nous lie au chant du moineau
au baryton profond de la baleine
aux premiers sanglots d’un nouveau-né
qui quitte le ventre de sa mère
Et il n’y a pas une seule forme de beauté
supérieure à toutes les autres
étant donné que la beauté est la vérité
essentielle omniprésente de la création
et que l’amour est son expression
la plus profonde
At dawn the foxes
chatting away
at the end
of the garden
to me it’s a cacophonous
high-pitched screech
to them I’m sure
it’s music to their ears
I wonder about
their vocal chords
how many words
they are able
to enunciate and
whether they’re able
to formulate questions
or express their feelings
John Lyons
