The surface of things
The beautiful surface of things
life in all its infinite detail
and in all its glory
the capacity to articulate
to put two and two together
the chalk hills
of the North Downs
at present covered
in pure white snow
where pure white lambs
will graze unknowingly
in days to come in spring
the rich hue and cry of life
lived and held
in the conscious mind
assembled in our language
a world built word by word
and recalled word for word
just as our love grows
accumulating acts of affection
mutual and stored
in the necessary memory
of living words :
there was a wedding feast
at which the water
became wine and filled
the imagination
as all art does in changing
the face of the earth
in its becoming
John Lyons