Ode to Joy

The hardness
and the softness
of love

Beauty is
difficult
words are
difficult

so too to
make sense
of our senses

born to tears
though joy
is our natural
element

should I ever
forget you
please remind
me

one kiss
is worth a field
of shimmering stars

my bones ache
for your embrace
be kind

John Lyons


Ode à la joie

La dureté
et la douceur
de l’amour

La beauté est
difficile
les mots sont
difficiles

tout comme
donner un sens
à nos sens

nés pour les larmes
bien que la joie
soit notre élément
naturel

si jamais
je t’oublie
rappelle-moi
s’il te plaît

un baiser
vaut un champ
d’étoiles scintillantes

mes os languissent
de ton étreinte
sois douce

Venus in retreat

Volcanic rock
ground down by the sea
to so much bonemeal
the black sands of Seixal
a gentle sloping beach
on a Saturday worn down
by lackadaisical summertime

We are all here to go
and many have gone
before us
recycled into the cosmos
this place of constant birth
and death and birth again

From the same minerals
this congealed lava
and the supple tissues that beat
in my breast and the blood
that surges through my veins

The rising wind in her hair
the thin line of her lips
curled into a reticent smile
and so her hips sway
as she enters the waves
Venus in retreat

John Lyons