Freedom Road

 

(A lone voice whispers) 

As my cards turn

As this old world burns

I know not where I'll go

Down Freedom Road

As this lone white candle

Blows into the night

I know not where

But I'll follow the light

All those sweet things

We once shared

Drift like leaves

Upon the air

Down Freedom Road

 I carry my soul

When the wind keeps calling, I keep walking on

I'm not afraid, no, not anymore

The Lord is waiting at the journey's door

Down Freedom Road

Where every broken heart comes home

I'm not afraid

Of the pain

Not afraid

To walk barefoot in the rain

'Cause I run to the Lord,

Now my work is done

Run to rest beneath

The Eternal Sun

And I'll wait to see

The Almighty,

And the Holy Son

When my race is run

Down Freedom Road

 I carry my soul

When the wind keeps calling, I keep walking on

I'm not afraid, no, not anymore

The Lord is waiting at the journey's door

Down Freedom Road

Where every broken heart comes home

As these cards keep turning

And this old world burns

Every mile I travel

Is another lesson learned

The candle may flicker

The night may be long

But faith keeps singing

Its quiet song

Down Freedom Road

 I carry my soul

When the wind keeps calling, I keep walking on

I'm not afraid of any pain

I'll walk barefoot through the pouring rain.

Down Freedom Road

To the shade of the Eternal Sun

As this lone candle blows

While I still run

Down Freedom Road

Until I see

The Almighty

And the Holy Son

(C) 

Copyright John Duffy

Anointed

 

Blessed be

(A lone voice whispers) 

You do know if you like poetry in 2026

You're one of the special ones 

Defeating the ten-second mind

Promoted everywhere

By the insidious Matrix

(C) 

Copyright John Duffy

Revelations

 

(A lone voice whispers) 

Blessed be...

Velumbound.

Tell me

Does suffering, and the longing for redemption through love. 

Create an inner war between your past and your future?

A fracture in the soul.

One half chained to memory.

The other reaching blindly toward rebirth.

And are we all merely channelling our deepest existential fears?

Through the masks we wear? 

Through desire.

Through confession.

Through art?

Can a soul haunted by the noise of the past

Ever truly be free?

Or do the echoes remain forever?

Whispering through empty rooms? 

Through sleepless nights? 

Through every quiet moment left alone with oneself?

And if redemption exists at all.

Does it come not through God? 

Nor repentance.

Nor punishment.

But through love?

Through being seen completely.

And still held gently by another soul. 

And does suffering itself become the fire of transformation?

The great black river one must cross.

To emerge changed.

Wounded.

But awakened.

For perhaps pain is not merely destruction.

Perhaps it is initiation.

The death of one self.

So another may finally begin.

And somewhere.

Deep beneath the frostbitten machinery of modern life.

Beneath pride.

Beneath guilt.

Beneath all the beautiful lies we tell ourselves.

There still exists a trembling human soul.

Begging to be forgiven. 

Perhaps that is the true horror.

And the true beauty.

That to become something new.

Something honest.

Something eternal.

Something must first die within us.

And maybe... that is where freedom begins.

Blessed be.

Velumbound.

(C) 

Copyright John Duffy

Secret from the Red Book

 

What to know a secret?

(A lone voice whispers) 

I have something so rare that it's mystifying and can be soul-rousing. 

But sometimes so seductively engaging. 

That they who really know me. 

Call me the living flame. 

For like my old Ma. 

Who was once born and raised beside the clear, still waters of Louisiana's deep Bayous. 

I inherited her gift to draw lonely souls. 

Like Gypsy moths, right out of their self-imposed darkness. 

Unconsciously drawn, whilst deep down, inside. 

They're always smiling but constantly just wanting and needing more. 

Whenever I shine my bright light of illumination and attention, right on them. 

And whisper their secret God-given name. 

It's just the eternal price I pay now, like my good old Ma. 

Bless her soul. 

For trying to summon a new light to shine in others, and for them to try to live a new worthy life. 

When they can stand proudly unafraid and unashamed. 

And say to the watching stars and all other delirious eyes. 

I matter!

And will never break or shatter... 

(C) 

Copyright John Duffy

Paper Views

 A reflective, socially conscious poem that encourages readers to examine how wealth, status, ideology, and prejudice shape their treatment of others. 

Its strongest qualities are its sincerity, hopeful conclusion, and vivid central images of navigating through "shoals of hate." 

While the recurring metaphor of "Paper Views" could be clarified slightly for first-time readers, its openness also invites interpretation. 

As a spoken-word piece in particular, it has a thoughtful cadence and a clear emotional arc, moving from introspection and warning toward hope and collective responsibility.

(A lone voice whispers)

Discard all those old Paper Views.

 

For sometimes your Paper Views can define who you are when you sometimes judge those less fortunate

 

Does your social status elevate you above others, and then onwards, to serve the conditioned hate?

 

Can your own divine morality be quietly silenced by the propaganda of the State?

 

Or can you see beyond your own personal worldly achievements,

and still navigate?

 

These are dangerous waters of late.

Shoals of Hate fill its dark, murky depths.

 

Swim above it all and show your true inherent kindness.

 

You were born full of love, don't just casually forget.

Don't drown in hatred's dark depths, full of judgmental regrets.

 

Be one of the many who have pulled back the veils?

Who see past the illusions of delusions?

 

"It's not what we do for ourselves that matters, but it's what we do collectively.

 

For hatred's dark mirrors, we must shatter."

 

Do your Paper Views define who you are, when you sometimes judge those less fortunate?

 

I hope not.

 

Be one of the many who still believe, and there's still so much hope for what humanity can truly achieve.

 

Don’t let paper views encourage your kindness to underachieve. 

Don’t give your soul a reason to grieve.

(C) Copyright John Duffy

 

Secret 202

 

Secret 202

(A lone voice whispers) 

In life

Whenever someone shares their inner light with you

Without any restrictions

Embrace their friendship

Without any stipulations

(C) 

Copyright John Duffy

Secret 201

 Secret 201

(A lone voice whispers) 

I'm just a conjurer sent to beguile you. 

The curious. 

Heaven sent to leave my prose - as my precious scent. 

For you to swallow as you silently follow. 

(C) 

Copyright John Duffy

Has your very blood been on fire with desire

 

(A lone voice whispers)

Has your very blood been on fire with desire

With envy and raced

When you're separated 

From the one you adore

And your heart felt heavy and displaced 

Beating fast

Thinking about 

Any possible mistakes 

Then you've tasted a drop of Loves Eternal Mead

The most life changing

Challenging 

Hennessey 

Virgins worldwide 

And throughout 

Eternity

Pray to taste 

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

The Sonnet of the Lone Guardian Angel

The Sonnet of the Lone Guardian Angel

(A lone voice whispers)

Some walk alone

seeking salvation

Others in groups seeking redemption

Through a silent breath, they all sing the same songs

A convergence of emotions to redo old wrongs

A joining of minds to continue the journeys

Emancipation has always been the lone cries

Voices echoing in the darkest of nights

We hear you and you are never alone

We see you

We are always by your side

This life has never been just a one-person ride

We are always with you in those lonely dark nights

An invisible hand to hold just hidden from sight

Keep your faith in yourself and whatever maybe

The sun will shine just you wait and see

I was bestowed at birth to only you

By your Almighty old friend

To help you in all that you contend

In all that you do

I am a secret friend who nobody sees

To inspire all that is deep awaiting release

I visit nightly when you are asleep

When the world is quiet and you no longer weep

I walk in your deep dreams and we link arms and converse

We speak in all languages where nothing is terse

So if you have a glorious dream

If you wake up and still feel emotions and empowerment from a person unseen

It's simply me

Your guardian angel in life's twisted labyrinthine

Copyright John Duffy

 

The Crimson Priestess

 

The Crimson Priestess

(A lone voice whispers)

Within my dark lucid dreams

She always appears

Sending me deep spiritual treasures

To see and absorb by my Golden Scrying Mirrors

In the silvery moonlights many reflective walls

Which are in plain view

But just hidden from all the profane

No matter what they do

My Crimson Priestess

Hailing from the mythical Red Church

A legendary palace filled with a multitude of dark confessional rooms

Hidden from mortal eyes

Only accessed by a select few

Either above or below

And only known to them who are truly in the know

Come listen and hear my sweet calls

And join me upon your life’s quest

She always whispers when I dream

There's a red room in here

With crimson silk sheets adorned with diamonds and gold

Where you can be my guest forever

Until you're old and when we finally lay together

If you're courageous enough

You'll never get cold

I'll send you ancient spells to drive your mortal success

Compassion and kindness

To leave for others

To follow in your footsteps

I await in the deep ravines

Currently unexplored by you

Look deep within yourself tonight

And with the thinning of the purple veil

Between your world and mine

Just after the stroke of midnight

I'll appear before your eyes and reclaim your mind

I'll take you back

Through all the dark corridors of the hidden cities and towns

To a Red Church of such spiritual salvation

And there I will trace with my soft fingertips

Along your spines road maps

The route to a new sensuous discovery

And introduce you into exotic tempestuous realms

Of such redemption

That you will plead to stay and never return

But it's here in this very room

I see and whisper to you from

That tonight your ticket to a glorious new world

You'll earn

Now summon me and just say three times

Blessed Be

Blessed Be

Blessed Be

Copyright John Duffy