Philip Lamantia

Ages

irlandesuk poetry

Ages

In all this poetry
           there is a yearning
for enduring love
           for an incorruptible body
for a commitment
           beyond word or gesture
for a depth of connection
           that transcends the physical

I too have seen the years
           the decades
that have simply unfolded
           for better or for worse
I have lived through
           fractured promises
and half-truths
           been taunted
by surface beauty
           and betrayed by numbers

as far as the eye could see
           orange groves
and flowering fields of sugarcane
           and a vicious dust
that settled in the lungs
           I have seen many things
and been blind to others
           have felt many things
and been insensitive to others
           but I ask you
what have you seen
           and known of the world
what have you known
           of life and love
what have you ever felt
           other than commotion ?

John Lyons

Rare flower

irlandesuk poetry , ,

Rare flower

Rare flower soaked
           in the summer rain
the wind will outlive you
           your petals will wither
and fall and your dust
           will be a distant memory

though you hale
           from a proud corridor
of stars your beauty
           will not survive the season
of salmon rising

dragonflies will buzz
           above your head
indifferent to your charms
           and through the black night
you will feel abashed
           in the shadow of the rose

there is no wisdom in old age
           merely senescence
a paltry figure in a tattered coat
           as the poet would have it
bones that fail and eyes
           out of focus
a limp from day to day

of her he recalls
           how he penetrated the light
how she listened enrapt
           to his song of innocence
and how their hearts were lost
           in a tangle of limbs

rare flower in spring
           do not raise false hopes
do not long for love everlasting
           delight in the bed in which you lie
and know that time will take its revenge
           come what may

John Lyons