Thinking about John Ashbery’s eyes
that intense stare from every photo
those ever-vigilant painterly eyes
that see or saw everything
in the most minute detail
that never miss or missed a thing
that never sleep :
and the mind behind those eyes
constantly striving to fit
the right words to the right thing
creating a poetic order
of the first order
John Lyons
The thought occurs to me :
would a bird want to be
a butterfly or vice versa ?
How attractive
are the featherless
paper-thin wings
how appealing
the more robust plumage
: each to his own
I suppose
Wallace Stevens was
obsessed with numbers
John Ashbery can be
a little snooty about some
of Frank O’Hara’s poetry
but Frank’s verse
is so full of friends
it’s like a party on a page
and Ashbery’s pales
in comparison
Today the rain has returned
and I observe
the drizzle’s delicate lament
for lost time
for the sad poetry of our being
for the exuberance of our love
lately so neglected
and for so much
of our lives
gone to waste
John Lyons
Pierre Reverdy (1889 –1960) was a French poet whose works fed into the art movements of his day, Surrealism, Dadaism and Cubism.
He also had an enduring relationship with Coco Chanel. Reverdy’s poetry was revered by Frank O’Hara and John Ashbery, both of whom were translators of his work.
Who knows where time will end
nor the long night of betrayal
as when the morning comes
and one has not slept
as when arctic winds
sweep down
to efface all passion
and cool the blood of desire
as when reason
stiffens into ice
See how the dead stars
veer in the black sky
and we reach for our souls
but we have lost
all sense of distance
In the present debacle
even a fool can be a king
many are
and soulless
we have become detached
from the memory of those beauties
that once nourished our dreams
Life consumes us
day by day
it gnaws at our flesh
until our muscles grow slack
and we mutter
heavenless prayers
as slowly we sink deeper
into the damp clay
whence we sprang
He who loved wisely
he who loved well
may yet have the last laugh
but make no mistake
the rest are all damned
to eternity
John Lyons
johnjosephlyons 