Have you been heartbroken?

(A lone voice whispers)

I'm under no legal or spiritual authority

To make any sense to you

For I now choose to just write evocative poetry like this one

Right out of the blue

To help disassemble any strands of an old irreplaceable love that I once knew

My contemporary words will help me build

A new soul rousing  empire rising from the moist grey metaphorical ashes 

Of all those depressing wet tears I once cried

When you left me standing still at that quiet railway station in Branton Peake

With a soft kiss on my right cheek and murmured a cheap goodbye 

A subtle sign of foreshadowing as our love soon after died

I may lose everything inside but like a strong sturdy autumn tree

Which loses its green leaves every year blowing in harsh Autumn winds

I'll still stand tall and wait for better days to come 

A new day where I can stop shedding a sad tear

A testimony to a unique state of mind where freedom freely sings

You see inner power isn't about how much you can handle before you break

When love walks out and leaves your heart swollen and frozen in its wake

It's about how you sustain and govern that pain but still manage to grow

After you've been so beautifully and skilfully turned out

And been the star of an incredible soap opera or popular tv show

Opened up so seductively on everyone's big screens 

Only to then be insidiously broken 

As you foolishly accept some more tainted red tokens 

Whilst standing in the shade of the Babylonian Weeping Willow

As you wear your heart on your sleeve and cry into your pillow

Whilst going through all of life's tragic emotional commotions

But soon you'll see

I'll be free and courageous enough 

To step out of the shade of your Babylonian Weeping Willow tree

And embrace the world with a new worldview

One where I'm not just another damned love-struck blinded devotee 

Totally obsessed by you 

Copyright John Duffy

A theme recounted down through the ages.

Does heartbreak cause the soul to change every time it happens?

To become stronger and wiser?

A great few questions for another piece. Salute.