Blessed be.
Velumbound.
Today's journey is through the:
The Human Experience
Part 1
Relationship Flaws
Into the circle of fire
I stepped
Hoping
To be baptised
With Love
And sex
Only to feel
Lonely
Used
And abused
As my
Lover
Moved on
To the next
(C)
Copyright John Duffy
Blessed be.
Velumbound.
This transmission is a visceral, dark romantic exploration of love viewed not as a gentle romance, but as a destructive, chaotic, and ultimately essential cosmic force.
The speaker contrasts the agony of emotional vulnerability with the hollow alternative of a safe, passionless existence.
The transmission rejects conventional, idealised views of romance.
Instead, it frames love as an agonising form of martyrdom.
It compares love to Língchí (the ancient Chinese method of execution by a thousand cuts) and the brutal impalements of Vlad the Impaler.
The "crimson landscape of bleeding emotions" emphasises that loving someone requires total, painful vulnerability.
True desire is described as a "juggernaut" that systematically dismantles "our inner towers of morality and sense of worth."
It brings biblical-scale destruction to a person's inner stability, drawing comparisons to Sodom and Gomorrah.
It uses a heavy saturation of historical, mythological, and religious imagery to elevate the stakes of human romance to an epic, universal scale:
The Chimaera and Pandora:
These Greek mythological references paint love and desire as beautiful illusions that harbour chaos and destruction, yet remain irresistible to the human soul.
The Basilisk:
In folklore, the Basilisk is a mythical reptile that kills with a single glance.
In the transmission, love acts like this creature.
It "swallows us whole," demanding absolute surrender.
The Archdeacon:
The introduction of a religious congregation praying at the "boundary edge" suggests that passion is a religion in itself, complete with its own nightly rituals and devotionals.
The transmission thrives on a stark paradox: love is lethal, yet it is the only thing that makes life worth living.
The Ultimate Rush:
Despite the "blood-stained crosses," the speaker notes that this chaos is the "ultimate rush for any soul."
Earth is framed as a playground designed precisely for these mind-blowing "vices and crushes."
The Alternative (The "Cold Kiss"):
The ending shifts to a chilling reflection on death.
The speaker warns that missing out on the devastating intensity of love is the ultimate tragedy.
When life ends, and you receive death's "cold kiss," the only thing you will truly regret missing is that consuming, "exotic perfume" of passion.
(A lone voice whispers)
In my endless quests
Of Argentine Tango's
Until my inevitable death
Love to me
Was like a Língchí
A slow death of a thousand cuts
A crimson landscape
Of bleeding emotions
With
What Ifs and Buts
Crucified like Vlad the Impaler's foes
On blood-stained crosses
Of
Who Knows
For true Desire is a fire
Of such imaginable power
It pulls down
Our inner towers,
Of morality and sense of worth
Like a juggernaut
From Sodom and Gomorrah
But as Ancient Books
Say
Living with that chimaera
That Pandora
Is the ultimate rush
For any soul
And Earth is the ultimate
Playground
Awashed with
Vices and crushes
Of all known
And unknown kinds
To blow anyone's mind
It's why in here
To our Arch Deacon
We all gather here
At the boundary edge
To pray nightly
To be returned
One day
To that strange but so exotic perfume
To once more
Stand naked
In any room
As love in any form
Swallows us
Whole
Like the mighty Basilisk
For that my dearest
Reader
Is the only form of
Living you'll ever miss
When you're too close
Your eyes forever
Like me
And countless others
And awake
On the other side
Of living
Cold kiss
(C)
Copyright John Duffy
Blessed be.
Velumbound.
This transmission explores grief, addiction, and the enduring nature of first love.
Written from the perspective of a 75-year-old man in a nursing home, the piece utilises a frame narrative to contrast the warm, vivid memories of youth with the cold, isolated reality of old age and impending death.
The transmission illustrates how addiction consumes everything—first emotional connection ("left me feeling lonely and cold"), then financial stability ("swallowed up / All our hard-worked for gold"), and finally, life itself.
The turning point of the narrative is the death of the girl's father.
Her inability to cope with this loss drives her to addiction, which ultimately destroys her life and her relationship with the speaker.
Death does change you in so many ways.
Shall we begin?
(A lone voice whispers. )
In the twilight hours
Just when the grey clouds
Break and the slow moon rises
Silently announcing it's getting too late
I still always wake to remember that auburn-haired girl
I once used to date
Her bright green eyes
And twinkling wide smile
All things
Young boys dream of
And for them
To go that extra mile
But like all things that came to pass
Our love withered the night her beloved pa died
I tried to hold her hands
To console her
Prayed God would wipe away all those wet tears she cried
But that new hole in her arm
Which soon swallowed up
All our hard-worked for gold
Always left me feeling lonely and cold
It all ended the fateful night
On June the first
When the rains fell
And life was a constant fight, and everything seemed on top
Filled with thirst
With my wallet and her purse empty
She got that feeling
To go stealing
Only to get shot dead by the cops
I can still see her now, even after all these sad passing years
Now I'm old and grey
Sat in this nursing home
Feeling all alone and filled with so many dry tears
I guess those memories of my youth will still linger and will never stop
It's quite crazy now that I'm on morphine to ease the pain
Those images of her standing in the kitchen
With those beautiful green eyes and wide beaming smile
Cooking and singing
Some Motown tune
While outside it rained
Still play around the cinemas
In my brain
As I even now
At seventy-five
Remember
Echoes of my first and last love
My beloved wife and lifelong addiction
Called Mary Jane
My love for you
Wherever you are
Will always survive
And until we are once more
Reunited
Will always remain
If you can hear this
Just know I still treasure those memories of us
The ones where you were free and truly alive
(C)
Copyright John Duffy
Velumbound.
This transmission is a contemporary, atmospheric prayer or incantation that blends traditional religious language with elements of speculative fiction, cosmic horror, or modern esotericism.
It explores themes of divine protection, spiritual warfare, and the insidious nature of temptation.
Maybe you need it?
You do know there is a war for your soul, don't you?
(A lone voice whispers)
Oh, Great Lord
Provide me and my family
With your Divine protection
And watch and guide our hopes and desires
With holy direction
Be the gatekeeper to discourage
Dismay and rejection
Without delay
And protect us from the enemy
Who comes calling
From the Grey Field
Of Low Density
Offering gifts
Of such devilish ecstasy
Amen
(C)
Copyright John Duffy
Velumbound.
This transmission functions as a manifesto on the healing power of artistic creation (specifically writing) framed through Christian spiritual warfare.
It positions poetry and storytelling not just as hobbies, but as divine tools—"soul medicine"—capable of slicing through emotional trauma and connecting the human spirit to the divine.
(A lone voice whispers.)
Do you need some soul medicine to heal
Do you need something immortal
Like an untouched Sword of the Spirit
To open up
A pathway
To a new portal
To reach the very Nexus
Of you
To an infectious unseen world
Of unforgettable words
And verbs
A high precipice to skydive from
If you can hold
Your nerve
Into the Great Beyond
A world of transitions
Incarcerations
Bonds of
Hope
Lost hope
Broken hearts
Needing to cope
Pain and reconciliation
But above all
Above all things
At the very core
Art
Art to do more
Art to really delve deep
Into where your dart
Lands
On your dartboard
Of hidden lands
So if your heart needs healing
A means to cope with
Maybe
Unreciprocated feelings
As your heart beats Heavier and heavier
Looking for release
From its heavy work
To climax
And explode
As old emotions
Are uncovered
And explored
Just look to the pen
Or keyboard
And the Almighty
Your version
Of the Lord
Will anoint you
With these words
To be restored
Benedict tibi puer meus
(Bless you, my child.)
To help heal the scars
From wounds
Other eyes
Can never understand
Or perceive
For it's why you were
Given words
To weave stories
That must be conceived
To cleve
Any invisible
Pain
That must be relieved
Maybe in poetry
For
Sometimes
The rhymes make it easy to take up our Swords of the Spirit
And fight against our mortal and immortal enemies
But even though sometimes our strength is not enough
To last into the night
When facing ordeals
We can find comfort
In knowing God is by our side
For
Romans 8:31 says
“What, then, shall we say in response to these things?
If God is for us, who can be against us?”
I encourage you to take up the sword of the Spirit in your daily life.
Remember that God’s Word is the ultimate truth and that we can stand on His promises.
With God on our side, we are unstoppable."
(C)
Copyright John Duffy
Blessed be.
Velumbound.
I rather like laying the foundations for a piece.
Are you ready?
This is a rich, evocative, and deeply spiritual transmission that blends esoteric symbolism with a call to inner transformation.
"Call to me" reads as a ritualistic invocation, guiding the reader away from the chaos of the physical world and into a sacred, timeless state of rebirth and self-reverence.
The transmission opens by establishing a sacred, almost occult environment that spans both macrocosmic and microcosmic scales:
"By mountain / By stars":
These cosmic anchors represent stability, vastness, and ancient permanence.
"Play in silence music / Taste its few bars":
This paradox introduces the transition from external sensory experiences to internal, spiritual observation.
To "taste" silent music implies a synaesthetic, deeply internalised consumption of the spiritual.
"Spread out the altar cloth / In your mind":
The transmission explicitly shifts from physical space to the psychic landscape.
This is an internal ritual, requiring mental preparation, intention, and sanctuary.
The middle section deals with letting go of earthly constraints.
Most notably, time and fear:
"Before / Minutes / And seconds / Unwind and / Refuse / To play":
The short, vertical fragmentation of the lines mimics the ticking or unwinding of a clock.
The voice is urging the practitioner to step into the ritual before time runs out, or perhaps into a state where time itself stops mattering ("refuses to play").
"Light up / Your peace ceremonial candle / And bind fear / On Urvi's glass mirror":
Urvi is a Sanskrit word meaning "Earth."
Binding fear to the Earth's mirror suggests confronting one's reflection, trapping the illusions of worldly terror, and neutralising them through peaceful intent.
The Path of Balanced Virtues
Once time and fear are stripped away, the higher spiritual frequencies can manifest:
"Beauty / Temperance / Even the thought of death":
These are foundational concepts in philosophy and the Tarot.
Temperance is the ultimate card of balance, alchemy, and healing.
Even the "thought of death" is not feared here;
In a ritual of rebirth, death is simply a necessary precursor to transformation, sparking "the adventurous to lead the way."
"Through / Red currents of benevolence / In October / To guide you / To deliverance":
The "red currents" usually symbolise blood, life force, passion, or martyrdom, but here they are paired with "benevolence."
This suggests a fierce, loving, and vital spiritual energy.
October (the month of autumn, shedding, and the thinning of the veil) acts as the perfect temporal backdrop for this "deliverance" or liberation.
The Dance of Rebirth and the Transcendental Destination
The transmission climaxes in a rhythmic celebration of a new state of being:
"Dance inside / To four beats / On four / Pray to open the door / To a new form of self-reverence":
The 4/4 time signature is the standard, grounding rhythm of life and music.
It represents stability and order.
The ultimate goal of this entire mental ritual is "self-reverence."
Learning to view oneself as a holy vessel.
"The shores / Of two Suns / And no guns / The Great In-Between":
The destination is a utopian, mystical realm.
"Two Suns" hints at a binary cosmic system or a state of super-enlightenment beyond our solar reality.
"No guns" guarantees total pacifism and safety.
"The Great In-Between" is the liminal space.
The spiritual landscape existing between life and death, material and immaterial, where the divine ego can finally unite with the soul ("Come / To embrace you").
It uses highly fragmented, minimalist lines that break and force the reader to slow down, capturing the meditative pace of a ritual breathing exercise.
The tone is authoritative yet deeply comforting.
It acts as a modern-day mystery school instruction manual for crossing over from fear into ultimate peace.
Let us begin.
(A lone voice whispers)
Call to me
By mountain
By stars
Play in silence music
Taste its few bars
Spread out the altar cloth
In your mind
Before
Minutes
And seconds
Unwind and
Refuse
To play
Light up
Your peace ceremonial candle
And bind fear
On Urvi's glass mirror
So
Beauty
Temperance
Even the thought of death
Can conjure the adventurous
To lead the way
Through
Red currents of benevolence
In October
To guide you
To deliverance
So
Dance inside
To four beats
On four
Pray to open the door
To a new form of self-reverence
So I can
Come
To embrace you
From the shores
Of two Suns
And no guns
The Great In-Between
(C)
Copyright John Duffy
Velumbound.
A transmission where the language is accessible and unpretentious, letting raw emotion take centre stage.
Anyone who has experienced loss can relate to the feeling of reaching out for someone, only to remember they are no longer there.
The transmission hinges on a single moment of clarity.
It beautifully tries to capture how grief isn't always a constant heavy weight, but rather a series of sudden, sharp realisations that happen during quiet moments of reflection.
(A lone voice whispers)
Grief, to me, is like walking into a playground to sit with someone special you used to know.
Then realising, in a sad moment.
They were unwillingly made to go.
(C)
John Duffy
Blessed be.
Velumbound.
A poignant psychological paradox:
Hiding your most authentic, vulnerable self from the person uniquely capable of seeing and understanding it.
This transmission explores the profound intersection of childhood trauma, defence mechanisms, and the terrifying nature of deep intimacy.
(A lone voice whispers)
And so I chose to hide from my soulmate
Who knows my inner child
(C)
Copyright John Duffy
Blessed be.
Velumbound.
Do you think this is true?
This poignant four-line transmission uses natural imagery to explore themes of emotional distance, alienation, and the passage of time in human relationships.
For even though people exist in close proximity, they can remain deeply isolated from one another.
(A lone voice whispers)
Like relics from bygone years
As far as the eyes can see
We pass each other
Like small icebergs in an endless sea
(C)
Copyright John Duffy
