The undoing of distance
       poetry that unpicks time
that puts two and two together
       though in this case one

High on a hill
       overlooking the harbour
we celebrated Easter
       and after ate bouillabaisse
as the dusk gathered
       in alleys and street corners
and bathed the dust
       in darkness

Above us
       the cemetery sky
filled with inevitable stars
       and that night her kiss
sent a shiver down my spine
       life and death tasted
on the same tongue
       I remembered an owl
crying in the wind
       I remembered the rafters
where spiders prowled
       in the early hours
before dawn
       I remembered that age
was rendered meaningless
       in a universe of decrepit light
and that the pain of pleasure
       was the certainty of loss

What could I possibly
       have known of love
all those years ago
       and what could I possibly
tell you now
       and why should you care?

John Lyons