If Desiderata was a person

Press play. Salute.

If Desiderata could Speak

(A lone voice whispers)

Like my name Desiderata means

Things wanted or needed

Are you ready to go willingly into the spinning grey void

That eternal karmic Kaleidoscope that announces the dissolution that comes at the very end

With a taste of everlasting joy

Resounding in all your inner vestibules with such profound pace 

In this or any other given moment 

If you are suddenly pulled from this life you desperately and materialistically chase 

And are then forever retired from its rat race

You do still have time you know 

Time to embrace that feeling of finding a sense of tranquillity or peace 

Before you go to a place where nobody knows 

So try to end all physical or emotional wars 

So that they can wither and be left in thousands of invisible pieces

So others, and more importantly you, may live 

As unwanted negative emotions surrender as they are depleted and defeated 

So send out your words bravely and confidently 

As your illustrious envoys

Carrying within them like loyal and faithful bannermen 

All your positive inner truths and not fake lies echoing within the hidden rhythms of your voice

Always with courage choose to embrace or ignore others as is your sovereign right 

For you have always been betrothed a rightful place 

At your choice of Gods glorious tables in The Great Silver City

A sacred place to sing and tell old much-loved stories of family and friends

Into the endless night

But until then

Always remember you are a child of an untameable universe

 

An embodiment of all its spectacular unique might 

So elect to resist mirroring yourself to others 

For that in itself can herald and give birth to a multitude of distress 

Linked to bitterness and jealousy

Two of the original sins known in some circles 

As the encroaching

Darkness favourite fathers and mothers

Celebrate instead your own life as an everlasting testimony of being alive

A rare enjoyment denied to so many scattered through poverty and war

Pleading for help  worldwide 

Even though they courageously diligently and quietly strive everyday life to survive

Take precautions when looking for true love and take care in all your worldly affairs 

For even in this self-evolving world

A fluid fast-moving place where even your soul may thirst

There are still many people tarnished with devious strains of mischievous deceptions

Just reborn again from the old cities of Sodom and Gomorrah 

One of the original Babylonian versions of the first

But take friendship and kindness graciously in 

Whatever form it beckons with a gentle hand

For brave souls just hidden inside many good people 

Still remain

Kindred souls who'll freely

Without any invisible agendas or programs

Try to guide you through this life's sometimes depressing falling rain with nothing to gain

Above all 

Be you for no one else can

See those old falls and drumbeats of failure 

Those sad scars you still and forever will wear deep down inside from many old wars

They are your spiritual purple tokens and golden medals

Trophies on gilded shelves where no one feels or sees but you 

All metaphorical symbols from past difficult times 

From significant moments once conquered or still mountains to climb 

To help you get through 

For you are you

Your own version of your empires and kingdoms

Your own king or appointed queen

And like all rulers of vast dominions 

You should always explore advice 

So seek out those without sharp knives for they can guide you to newer plateaus

So your life can once again begin 

As new relationships or much-needed things unfold 

And those old tattered 

figurative brown suitcases you carry upon heavy shoulders

Filled with old sins or fears are thrown away to be vanquished and relinquished

In quiet moments of introspective solitude 

Let not overthinking destroy your mood

For by doing so 

Fear and loneliness can suddenly appear

Causing happiness and joy to be forced to stand down 

To eventually over time 

Slowly deteriorate and sink

And then like a talented magician performing on the world stage 

Chose to disappear before you can blink

And finally

At the end of all ends my friend

Strive to look back on your life with a wry smile that you never willfully left any true friends or family behind

That you never lied and tried to destroy their reputation or name

That you gave more than you could ever ask for 

Whenever you appeared out of the blue at their front door

That you were true and genuine and not just driven or motivated by addictions connected to sin

So you can be at peace with the deep thought that the good memories and favourable stories linked to you will never cease

And that you always held out the golden lit torch of friendship 

To all the kindred you could find whilst walking life's many diverse and multicultural streets

So be in unity with your life and always remember

This life is like a Shakespearean Midsummer Night's Dream

Many new adventures still remain unseen where you'll forever run free

When your time is called to go through that other silver door that connects this life

To The Great In-Between 

But until then

Love your life and live

Use these words to find the courage and strength to be you 

For all the watchers

The many incredible friends or devious narcissistic foes to see 

For you have so much more to still give

For in the end 

It's all you can be

It's why you're still alive

Don't live a fake life like one of the condemned on social media 

Who just love to pretend

Copyright John Duffy 

A piece inspired by Desiderata by the American writer, Max Ehrmann from the early 1920s. 

 Salute.