Light that reaches back
to the origin of light
the original species
of light from which
all emanates

Has time ever stood still ?
Has movement ever ceased ?
The universe that expands
within our minds
within our hearts
all energy recycled
all growth turned
to advantage

So too love
in all its leisure
and our internal life
governed by purpose
and by attraction
by what we call desire
the passion that fires up
the humbled penitent soul
to action

Love that reaches back
into all our yesterdays
Love that sets the path
for all our days to come

John Lyons

The light the air
the dust falling
gently back
into the earth

How detached we’ve become
from the peace of stars
and the cycles
that gave birth
to the very fibres
of our being

How divided the world
split off from the universe
by arrogance and pride
by blind ambition
and by anger and violence

But life is the truth itself
the supple flesh that glows
in the darkness
the warmth of blood
the warmth of affection
the warmth of desire
that hungers only
to serve love

The sun the moon
the stars : these are
neither myth nor metaphor
they are our kith and kin
our brethren ever since
mass first exploded
into energy and created
time

Time time time
with its subtle taste
of eternity

John Lyons

Ocean love song

Great river
encompassing
the earth’s mass

sweet union of love
caress of rippling waves
on the shore

source of all life
out of its depths
all mind all soul

cast your bread
upon these waters
love that is worth a light
will fill your heart
with joy

under the cold
December moon
she will raise a hand
and beckon you
to lie with her
once more

John Lyons

Revised

Maximus of Gloucester

. . . as it has always been
           Olson is talking about
the moral struggle
           here as in America
or ancient Greece
           or down among
the Guatemalan Mayans
           a struggle over the land
over property over
           who owns the fish
in the sea
           does anyone hold
a title to them
           inherited from whom
the origins of ownership
           just as one bird may steal
the food from another
           to feed its young

who owns the discourse
           who owns the language
who owns art and poetry
           the pomposity of some
so-called professionals
           who despise the amateur
who look down on all from
           their towering ignorant egos
Truth is the holy grail
           and beauty shall be known
by its innocence
           by its wholesome disclosure
as it has always been
           the struggle is moral

John Lyons