Happy New Year

 

We've lost a few
Gained a few

Still loved a few
Living

If we're lucky

But happy New Year
To just You

© John Duffy 😍😎🙏🥃

Image courtesy of Pinterest.

The Occult Goddess

 

 (A lone voice whispers)

Every night 

When she chooses to suddenly appear

To the chosen few

Stories abound in darkened rooms and secret circles

That all her restless slaves 

Try to raise their weary heads 

From their feathered pews

Enchanted 

Beyond all belief 

Pleading telepathically to climax 

And find some sort of mental release

As she stands over their ramshackled lonely beds

Deceptively 

Beautiful as every single spoken 

Or written human rhyme  

Some say

Uttered down through the Ages 

Through 

Time

By Poets

Mystics and so many Mages 

Some speak of long leather-clad legs 

All men cry to touch and beg and pray inwardly 

 

To caress

Ravish me red lips

Women say they forever daydream 

To just taste 

Emerald eyes they all speak of

Orbs to invade and conquer your soul

Until the very end

Whenever it's time 

For your human life 

To be laid to waste

Has she entered your room and watched you sleep 

As your soul wandered its many inner spaces 

And unspoken keeps

Her name

You may ask

Well, her name is simply Want

For we all deep down 

Crave something

Be it flesh

Power 

Friendship or even Love

Amongst many others

Only our occult Mother 

Called Want 

Can guide us 

To provide

Regardless of the price 

It will cost us 

In the long run 

As we struggle to survive 

While 

she still lives and thrives 

Feeding off our inner suffering 

As we sustain and strengthen her 

With our foolish wants and self-defeating lies 

(C)

Copyright John Duffy

Image courtesy of Pinterest.

Esmeralda

 Press play before reading. Salute.

I hope she still waits 

Somewhere 

Within that old farmers' gate 

That wild rebellious 

Country woman 

Of such irreducible taste 

Whose bright eyes still shine 

With the illustrious glow 

Of that illuminated flame

Once stolen in haste 

By brave Prometheus 

From heavens dark skies 

With no shame 

Starting an eternal war between two heavenly states 

A divine glow that now

Enhances her beautiful face

And sometimes 

As I pass by that way 

Incredibly 

Late at night

I can always hear her 

Whispering my name

For she stands 

So inflamed

Dressed in black leather 

And green 

Looking like Morgana the Cunning Sorceress 

In all Arthurian legends

One of the most beautiful women 

I've ever seen

And she holds me now 

Like a pawn 

Enthralled in a grip of steel 

Who no longer feels 

As I try 

With all my might 

To break down 

Her carefully constructed walls

Where she stands 

Always so tall 

Especially 

In these dark woods 

At the stroke of midnight

Where we still meet 

As I stroll through those gates

No longer in control

Guided by her candlelights 

To watch her 

Standing 

Filled with such magical purpose

Singing so eloquently 

In her candlelit circle 

Up to the moon 

And the watching skies 

As white clouds roll by 

With no rehearsals

Uttering strange ancient spells 

Unknown to most 

Only those in the know

As she conquers and subdues

All who dare 

Come hither into view 

Before they can yell

 

It's why I still visit 

Along with so many others

For we're all just hypnotized fools 

Enchanted 

By the delicious sounds 

Of Esmeralda 

And her golden ringing 

Summoning bells

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Image courtesy of Pinterest. 

The Swimmer

 I'm not yours 

Like it used to be

Now I'm just lost 

Swimming 

In rough seas 

Clutching onto your memories 

Like a broken tree 

To keep me afloat 

In this now 

Gentle breeze

But I know 

When I really look 

At that tree

My old love 

Loved to be quiet 

Loved to be loud

 

Loved to be kind 

But 

Sometimes 

in the twilight 

Lost and floating at sea

I also know 

Her old

Love still blows my mind 

Wherever it takes me 

Wherever I go

Even though

It's like a tree 

Covered with a philosopher's

soul disease 

As I look for शम्भल 

Also known as

Śambhala 

In the lost lands of 

Tagzig Olmo Lung Ring

A mythical place 

I now float to 

Where the brokenhearted 

Gather in huge burning 

Paranormal circles 

To sing 

(C)

Copyright John Duffy

The Christmas Prayer

 

There's an incredible woman I once knew 

Who suddenly appeared
One Sunday afternoon 

Right out of its
Ether and Blue 

We lived and walked on kind or mean streets 

Made of fire and ice
In all known weathers 

It was like rare miracle
A true unique paradise 

Before our happiness
Paid the fatal price 

For like all good things 

We came under attack
And The Principalities 

Destroyed it with their dark knife 

Worried
Vexed
Harassed
Irritated
Confused

And frustrated 

We fell like lightning from our heaven 

Never again
To be together 

But then a low whisper Came to me

Skipping and dancing
Like Heidi 

Throughout all the inner corridors 

Of my mind 

In a dream
With no name 

It whispered

Say these words 

When day breaks or when the night falls 

To cleanse your soul of anything dark 

That calls 

Lord God, my Protector and
Savior 

I pray for Your protection and salvation 

As my days and nights left
In numbers 

Fall 

For you are my shield
My place 

My refuge and under Your wings 

I pray for peace against all those things 

The Principalities use 

So I can look past that darkness 

And remember the love
I still have for my muse 

And then it faded
Like a setting sun 

I wrote down that prayer
For it lingered so 

Begging to be captured
In case others needed to hear 

Or know it's rapture 

Its powerful song
To help right old wrongs 

For I see her now
Standing so strong 

In visions 

Like Deborah in The Old Testament

Heaven sent 

As I thank the Lord
Day and night in prayer 

For the strength

In making his Presence
Felt 

To then revisit memories
That never left 

Those beautiful ones
I still treasure 

The ones we
Created and
Forever meant 

(C)
Copyright John Duffy 

Image courtesy of Pinterest.

Do we get visited by those we still love?

(A lone voice whispers)

I always used to wonder

Where do  

Robins go to sleep

Then one dark night 

Within a deep all-consuming  

Lucid dream

At approximately one o'clock

A beautiful deity  

Appeared out of the mists

Wearing a blue and white coat

Holding a Lily  

And a shining lantern

Across its shoulder

A golden trumpet and a branch from Paradise

On its golden belt  

Hung a scepter and a silver scroll

As it strolled towards me

Within my illustrious sleeping streams

A strange palace of absolute darkness

Where no birds  

Flew or squawked

It's mysterious ever watchful  

Eyes

Held me firmly transfixed

Like  

An ethereal heavenly hawk

Its bright white orbs  

Swallowed me whole

As it whispered  

Words

I'll remember  

Until I'm old

Within the light of day  

We appear

Your beloved and even I

To watch over  

And visit you

To see and follow  

All that you do

When we  

The blessed few

Waiting in the new 

Spectacular 

Bright white lights

In the glorious cathedrals of Atmos 

Shadowy arch

Cross over  

When allowed a brief time

Before we are eventually  

Reunited in a new form

To rejoice in hymn

Within your All Highs  

Divine Church

Depending upon  

The faith of your choice

To visit those we still  

Love

To leave a sign or sing  

A sonnet

Happily with echoes of our new voice as we too mourn  

  

Then in here  

At darkness

In  

The Great In-Between  

A place you all visit  

Whenever you fall asleep

In deep dreams  

We always appear

For real spiritual shapeshifters

Like us

Never really sleep

We just transform into Robins

Through a supernatural technique

For sometimes they are merely vessels

We use

Just one of our everlasting souls keeps

So if you see one  

And it sings

Looking straight at you

Remember this

It's a just a beloved love one

Maybe even me  

Archangel Gabriel

Channeling  

Through

And with that beautiful closing  

Line

It disappeared quietly

Back into the receding winds that whined

Of the Hidden Divine

And when I awoke at eight

I'm sure it met me

Sat on my garden's old wooden gate

My beautiful friend

Who loves to sit on the washing line

Whispering and singing

Hello

Sending shivers and  

Tingling

Shooting

As I remember that dream

All the way

Up and down  

My sinuous  

spine  

(C)  

Copyright John Duffy

Image shared via Pinterest under fair usage policy.  

Want to know a dark secret?

Press play before reading. Salute.

(A lone voice sings)

Hosanna 

Hosanna

 There's a dark hole 

In the middle of my soul 

And my beloved mother 

Still lives in there 

And I carry her 

Around 

Everywhere 

I go 

Hosanna 

Hosanna 

She climbs out at midnight 

When sleep 

I can no longer 

Fight  

Hosanna 

Hosanna

And sits on my chest 

Dressed in her Sunday best

Always

Hidden right out of sight 

Hosanna 

Hosanna 

Whispering 

Strange spells 

That bind me 

In total bondage 

To an old age 

When she once lived 

Hosanna 

Hosanna

And we were so happy 

Together 

Especially at Christmas 

When life 

Still 

Had so much to give 

Hosanna 

Hosanna

But now she's died 

And instead of saying 

Goodbye 

And sending her crying  

To The Dark Lands 

Of No Sound 

Where I'll forever 

Miss her 

Hosanna 

Hosanna 

Lost in a fissure 

In time 

Where the Black Nightingales 

Fly 

I just carry her 

Around 

Now

In a dark hole 

In the middle of my soul 

A beautiful place 

 

Painted

With memories 

And home 

To a stunning spirit

I've always known 

Hosanna 

Hosanna

My mother 

Who I'll carry around 

Until the end of my time

And when I'm called 

To The Dark Lands 

Of No Sound 

She can climb out 

My soul 

Hosanna 

Hosanna 

So we can run around 

Hand in hand

Singing songs of happiness 

Filled with 

Hosanna 

Hosanna 

To break the silence 

To echo into eternity 

All over  

Those sacred grounds

As we wait for 

Strength 

Reassurance 

And his holy spiritual 

Guidance

Singing 

Forever 

Forever 

Forever 

Hosanna 

Hosanna 

Hosanna

© 

Copyright John Duffy 

Image courtesy of Pinterest.

Channeling Yeshua

 (A lone voice whispers)

And so I left my old safe world

On Christmas Day

Behind

And looked for a new one 

In the dark and deep realms 

Of a broken mankind

Sent by my 

Father 

Most High 

To teach 

Before I died

To try to save all those 

Who for salvation 

In the Wilderness

Cry

To change the unconscious vibration of Humankind

And all that 

I could touch 

Reach 

Or find 

Sent to bring 

Peace of mind 

To the sick 

Disabled 

Blind 

Or those held 

In bondage 

By the grip of evil 

Spellbind 

My birth name 

Was Yeshua 

Once sent to tear down 

The old ways 

And give birth to hope 

On Earth 

From the ruins

Glad to meet you 

And so I ask 

In the words of your popular tongues 

Spanish 

French and English

¿Me vas a acoger -hoy y todos los días- para tratar de salvarte del pecado?

Allez-vous m'accueillir - aujourd'hui et tous les jours - pour essayer de vous sauver du péché?

Are you going to welcome me in - today and every day - to try to save you from sin?

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Image courtesy of Pinterest.

A Christmas Angel called Serenity

  

(A lone voice whispers)  

Like a heart's favorite childhood melody

She appeared to me

Walking harmoniously  

Like Lady Serenity

Straight out of the shadows of the fading lights

As the clouds parted  

As if asked by Moses

In the dark skies  

At midnight  

All she asks for  

She said  

  

With her bright glistening eyes  

No man or beast  

Can deny as time  

Flies  

Her opulence and grace  

Lit up my face  

When she appeared at my staying place  

And if she's feeling kind  

And kisses you

On your cheek

Like she did mine  

So gently

With a candy-sweet smile

That glows with tints of eloquence and obsession

That's so deliciously elegant

You'll feel a subtle transference of energy

A synergy of goodness and kindness

Tied up in a bow

That will follow you  

Like a rainbow

Everywhere  

You go  

Have you too  

Seen this elemental testament

To spiritual redevelopment  

Yet  

For now this  

If you haven't

Angels do appear  

Every day

To the mournful guilty or truly innocent

To try to answer prayers  

Which are heaven sent

For prayers  

Sent up to the clouds

Must be answered  

In time

And never declined

To try to stop the torture and torment  

In someone's mind  

So this Christmas  

Find some time  

As it flows  

And who knows  

The Angel who looks like Lady Serenity  

Could appear to you  

And give you a gift

To carry forever

Into eternity  

No matter where your life  

Goes  

  

  

  

(C)  

Copyright John Duffy

Image shared under fair usage policy from Pinterest.

Calvary Dreams

 

(A lone voice whispers)

I heard your voice
Today 

On Christmas Day 

That old well-loved

Familiar sound 

 
Whenever 
I pressed play 

So soft and sweet
I couldn't sleep 

But stand still
Weep and repeat 

Why does God
Give you such grief

Whenever
I hear her voice 

To then stand still 

In disbelief 

And then I remembered
Calvary 

A dark place
In human history 

Hanging
Painted 

In so many
Art Galleries 

So much wrong
Done to one 

So strong 

One crucified
For Mankind 

To sing a new song 

A new song
So all
Could belong 

To the light 

When their time came 

And they could no longer fight 

So now
Whenever

I hear your sweet voice 

Or your name
On Christmas Day 

Like today 

That familiar sound 
When I find the courage 

To press play 

To reminisce
About my true love 

On that special day 

And her incredible captivating spirituality 

I just know you're safe

Smiling down
Looking my way 

My beloved
Still loved 

Wife called
Valerie

Because Jesus died
For me and you 

Even though
Crucified 
By Evil 

But never alone 

At Calvary 

So we could all rise 

With the call of the
Golden Trombone 

To atone
To then enter 

Our true home

Under Gods 

Super Dome 

(C)
Copyright John Duffy 

Image courtesy of Pinterest.

If Poetry had a voice

So

Exploit 

Use and maul me 

As your spirits mouthpiece 

To create your masterpiece

All you who are depleted or weighed down 

With emotional or spiritual grief

And I will try to grant you 

A precious taste of celestial release

So you can discover a consecrated constitution 

To lead you 

To much-needed sacred grounds 

Of respite and inner peace 

© John Duffy 

Image courtesy of Pinterest.t

A Passage from The Book of Tobias

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Friendship.

 

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To my readers

 

(A lone voice whispers)

Some whisper and will

In secret occult circles 

About these last days of 2022

That 

Humanity will fall in unruly petulant desire

Consumed 

and devoured by a blazing infectious fire 

But what happens to you and I

Your mind and mine 

Do you still shiver 

inwardly 

at the vibrational thoughts 

of my words 

Do they bind you

Submissively 

To always return 

Doomed forever 

To hovering above 

my prose 

That screams to be heard

With wide eager eyes

Like a love-struck 

Hummingbird 

Do you still tremble 

like when we first met 

Wanting the warm caress 

of loquacious re-introductions

Of new verbs 

Opening mystical 

Golden gates to new 

Poetic realms

And their 

guile to bind us together 

Like love-struck siamese twins

Creating welcomed sins 

Of dried sweat 

and sweet tributaries 

of deep-seated 

spiritual yearnings 

That makes your mind 

so dam wet 

Tales of the supernatural 

Light and darkness 

Filled with movement or stillness

Sovereignty or loneliness 

New flames 

of innermost desires

Contained 

in unspeakable 

words or unfamiliar names 

As our Zisurru

Poetic stories to be set asunder 

In the footfalls 

of Zeus's approaching 

apocalyptic thunder 

To burn new Hurricane lanterns 

in Imaginations darkened 

Halls of Fame 

To live in the hope 

Of a new life

An everlasting dance

With a drop of a wild transmigration 

 

As our new Nexus 

To savor in your mouth

Like an intense-tasting holy communion wine

A strong touch of such wantonness  

Your 

Voracious soul needs 

To carry to all empires 

You may visit 

In the North 

East

West or South 

As it swallows new 

Stories with ravenous greed

Will we survive 

Still together in 2023

With such

Intellectual thoughts

You might still whisper 

and silently ask 

You and me 

Does 

Will it last

Echo in 

Dreams whilst waiting

For the midnight call on 

New Year's Eve 

When we 

Sing pagan songs of 

King Solomon 

As we fight back 

the encroaching darkness 

With shining 

drunk Astral eyes 

as our Athame

Our sacrificial knife 

Inwardly praying 

to always believe 

Under the sharp eyes 

of the Winters Midnight Sun 

Which for so many lost souls 

We know 

She will still shine 

ever brighter 

As she quietly watches 

and grieves 

As they collect 

their angel wings as they leave

Who knows my child 

Everlasting hope and

Peace could arrive as one

So we could conquer this new normal and continue to rise

Or it could all go wild

And turn into a new dark nuclear history 

Where dreams and people 

Are consumed and defiled 

As good and evil 

Battle for victory

And apart 

we may have to survive 

On mean streets 

As quantum tattooed vaccinated

slaves or unvaccinated exiles 

In a New World Order

Called a

Fool's Paradise 

Without

Any known borders 

But either way 

know this

May your spirit guides 

Lead you 

to continued health and safety 

Across all fast-flowing political wars 

Waters

Famine or disorders

So in 2023 

We can share our much loved

algorithms 

In all our holy quarters 

So mote be it 

What will be 

Will be

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Image courtesy of Pinterest.

The Preachers Story

  

(A lone voice whispers) 

 

Teacher
 

Can you help me

For there's still a magical circle 

I wish to find 
 

Said the lonely old Preacher 

to his mentor 

Old Father Time 
 

As they both stood looking 

at history's many 

intersecting blue lines 
 

Teacher 

It's a place where my true love 

resides 

In a my own time loop called 

Once in a Lifetime 
 

I once read about this 

magic circle 

a thousand years ago 
 

Before I was recalled 

when you rang my Golden Bell 

and it chimed 
 

And I dearly wish to find it 

through all the mazes 

of all my old lifes puzzles 

and paradigms 

And I now know 

after opening so many old books 
 

The ultimate secret I've found is 
 

You have to truly encourage 

your heart and soul 

To embrace its magnetic flow 
 

And some say 

You have to be willing to sacrifice 

everything you once chased 

Materialism

Wealth 

And some say all who you once 

used to follow and the Great Hunt 

You used to race in and 

give up all control 

 

 
 

Sometimes O' Father Time 

as the seconds no longer roll 

 
 

When I look back 

over thousands of years 

at my chance of 

Once in a Lifetime 
 

I can still remember 

I came so close 

to the greatest of finds 

 
 

And that in itself is my penance 

and one of my many 

mortal crimes 

 
 

For I too once knew a 

wonderful soul 
 

My own version 

of the 

Beautiful Red Rose of Jericho 
 

She was so beautiful

Graceful 

and as gentle as 

falling snow 

 
 

But like all things 

that came to pass 
 

I lost my way 

in the grip of the seductive 

shadowy abyss 
 

And never got to feel 

her sweet gentle touch 

or soft velvety kiss 
 

But now I'm a part of you, 

O Father Time 
 

And as I look back 

taking up your 

so very long reach 

 
 

Using your 

supernatural telescopes 

 
 

To look at old hopes 

and dearly once-loved folks 
 

I can still see her waiting, 

sitting there patiently reading 

 
 

Fluctuating heartbroken 

throughout your many 

blue distinct intersecting 

time frequencies 

Streams 
 

Thinking about the one, 

she always dreamed about 

and so wanted to love and teach 
 

But who was suddenly 

snatched by death 

beyond her reach 
 

The book she's always holding 

and reading 
 

When I zoom in 
 

Is a collection of her own poetic 

sad words linked 

together tragically 
 

To broken stories of her life 

of waiting 

Lost

Standing alone 

On the outer edges 

of a now-grey world 

 
 

Now all that once 

cherished color and light 

Smiles and laughter 

have flown away like a 

Starling and now live in here 

The Great Hereafter 
 

I always see her regaling 

her only thought 

 
 

That I would arrive like a hero 

 
 

Riding into her life 

from the Ether of time 
 

And fill her life with magical 

moments 

of such soul-changing happiness 

and glory 

That so many people 

would be so surprised 

and beguiled at our new story 
 

But as I still sadly see her 

from in here 

Hiding and crying at midnight 

Using your Scrying Mirrors 
 

In this Dark Tower 

which connects all things 

and places 
 

Lost in one of history's 

many bands of low resistance 

To a familiar place 

flooded with no new 

and old sinners 

 
 

Where I can only pray 

to sit with her 

For it's the only place 

one day I plead I might reach 

 

 
 

When I have paid my dues to you

To then go back through time 

 
 

To then appear out of the 

fluctuating blue Ether 

 
 
 

To wipe away all her soft wet tears 
Maybe then 

In that spiritual moment 

We can both be happy to clasp our 

**Once in a Lifetime** 

 

To then walk upon 

the soft yellow sands 

And smell the life-changing winds 

Blowing across that 

circle's secret beaches 

 
 

And then in the realization 

of that long-lost dream 
 

We may both just smile 
 

As we finally fade into 

just being another part 

of your secret anthologies 

of love stories 

 
 

Is it true

Teacher 

That to find inner peace 
Love and divine glory 

To know what that real devotion 

can bring and what it looks like 
 

Do you have to know 

what to give 

And how to fight to reach it 
 

And is that one 

of the many secrets 

To what a true love story is

 
 

(C)

Copyright 
John Duffy 

Image shared from Pinterest. Fair usage policy applies.

The Covid Widow's Monologue

 Press play before reading. Salute.

Like an old wounded soul

Returning from waging 

a spiritual war 

in my own never-ending 

version of Armageddon

In the mythical 

middle East 

Where I eventually subjugated 

and slaughtered 

my own inner fears 

Which paraded around 

like a crimson-red beast 

I saw you again 

my kin 

like a surreal beautiful nightingale

In a deep incredible dream 

Slowly looking my way 

in the bustling crowds 

In the Great In-Between 

With such exquisite 

dark extraordinayy eyes

Such climactic things 

I'll reflect upon 

Until that final expedition home

That preordained 

mournful day 

When I'll finally whisper 

and softly say

Goodbye Mother Earth 

And willingly collapse 

to eventually die

We were once 

completely heartbroken 

outsiders 

Lost on life's so 

complicated unexplored 

wild roads 

Just stuck on it's 

sad ever-moving fast trains

Seemingly permanently 

riding around in 

revisited tragic circles 

In life's never-ending 

falling rain

But with that memory 

Of that one glance, 

within that one look 

I took by chance, 

I knew then why I was 

continually hooked

We had surreptitiously 

found a new hidden hand 

signal 

To an underground realm

Where we trafficked emotions 

mysteriously 

And no longer felt lonely 

or tainted

Emotions 

to help us stop walking 

through life feeling 

Jaded  

like one of the painted

condemned

It must have been fate 

or divine Gods 

using synchronicity to be kind

For when I saw you 

I finally remembered 

a long-lost memory 

That floated up to that 

undulating cerebral cortex

Within my mind

A vision that we were 

married together 

in another time 

Forever deemed 

to be just happy 

in another lifetime

But sometimes this version

Of life doesn't play fair 

and I again 

Have to kneel 

and blow you 

a soft tender kiss

Put some beautiful red roses 

on your much-beloved grave 

As I remember 

all those fateful mistakes 

I once unfortunately made

And as I return 

from fighting my anxiety

Drinking Southern Comfort 

to drown out the stress 

On my nightly crusades

I know you'll return 

to love me once more 

wherever you are 

No matter how far

For we'll be both soon reborn 

Because this universe 

was told to baptize us 

to never be apart 

And who am I 

to judge the great Almighty 

The true King of the Graveyard 

Who holds all those sacred 

secrets 

Of the heart?

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

My muse. The angel called Calliope.

 

Press play before you read. Salute.

Shall we begin?

Amongst the murky misty 

encroaching images

A surreal scene 

the creators of Casablanca 

Would have been proud 

to call their very own

My new muse

An angel called Calliope 

Wandered and appeared 

walking like a real siren

Straight into my view 

Wearing a stunning 

fashionista's white dress 

She appeared 

right out of the blue 

Bent 

and with tasty red sweet lips

French kissed me 

back into life 

Watched by cautious eyes

Who had sent her 

to help me get through

Dwellers 

Ancestors and spirit guides 

Who stood hidden 

in the crescent glow 

of the Full Strawberry Moon 

Which hung high 

in the purple-hued sky 

Like an unearthly tribute 

to mortal pain 

Where all those suffering 

Made her a seat 

and bade her 

Welcome into their 

bedroom 

And in the falling night rain

I now seem to reach out 

earnestly to crave her soft touch 

As those old emotions 

of being alone 

Systematically kneel 

Submitting 

to be slain

My Calliope 

came gliding in 

Majestically last June 

Riding on the backs 

of handwritten spiritual  

 messages

Exchanged through eternal 

friends 

one glorious day 

As they discussed my story 

and all it's many open 

and well-known wounds

Notes that said I was available 

Now I've found freedom 

from old sacred vows 

of fidelity

Once spoken 

In hushed verses 

which someone else 

had recently foolishly broken

We now stand firmly 

upright 

Whenever we meet

In straight lines 

In new lands of holding 

hands whilst we're walking

Enjoying talking 

and telling each other 

funny stories 

Like meeting each other 

was foretold to be our calling

At this very moment 

as I sit here 

By the attic window 

by this old Riverside Cafe 

In the Parisian winter cold

Looking out in quiet confinement 

and contemplating how my once sad life

Suddenly turned to gold

I still in these quiet moments 

of soul-searching reflection

Embrace my newly found 

harmonious serendipity 

And all these treasured moments 

and intimate reunions

Where two newly introduced souls 

with such effortless proclivity  

Merge together 

as if guided by a strange sense of 

supernatural compatibility

Was I carefully scrutinized 

by those Hidden Watchers 

I sometimes wonder 

Angels

Who stand on blue milk crates 

in those black unknown voids

Fluctuating between time and space

Trying to find ingenious strategies 

and heavenly constructs 

to illuminate

I hope 

my much cherished 

and treasured face

Who knows 

but now I've found a compatible 

world

A fascinating realm 

replenished endlessly 

with laughter

Celebrated and baptized 

at midnight by soft wanton lips

Which collide together so passionately

Forever I hope in close proximity

I may never know all the answers 

but in scripture 

Song of Solomon says

Set me as a seal upon your heart, 

as a seal upon your arm, 

for love is strong as death, 

jealousy is fierce as the grave. 

Its flashes are flashes of fire, 

the very flame of the Lord. 

Many waters cannot quench love, 

neither can floods drown it. 

Oh, how now it matters 

for while I used to be sinking slowly 

but surely

In those former dark ominous depths 

like a twisted scene 

out of Twin Peaks 

Sitting drunk and in love 

with shrewd old Mother Gin 

and her kin 

Brother Depression 

and her twin sister

Madame Anxiety

All rebellious juveniles 

of the dark angel 

of which I will not speak 

Beneath all those whispering 

entities 

bringing worldly self-ruminating 

illuminations

Are we as human beings 

simply all the foolish choices 

we make in the low junctures 

revealing themselves to us 

before dawn

The Witching Hour

When we are weak and spiritually 

weary 

Forgetting our true selves 

and God-given powers

For I now know 

with the courage to call forth 

the light 

Love does call to us all

Even the self-righteous 

or the frightened 

If we can be brave enough 

to open up to embrace 

and welcome those who 

Watch 

and their games of Astral Chess 

as we open up our souls 

to confess

We must I suppose 

after talking to some of Father Times' 

much-admired guests 

and his many mistresses 

As I walk this life and 

greet so many of its new 

witnesses 

Always try to find the strength 

to overcome all that hides 

scurrying in the darkness 

of your mind  

 

Fighting for your attention

Just casually waiting  

until the moments right 

to maximize your depression

But still beyond this cosmic 

ever-swirling dust of reflection 

as I still breathe

As my heart beats slower 

each day as it now begs and pleads

Whenever I think of her 

my new muse 

Calliope

My soul's only intimate secret 

in a corrupted society 

who holds in her soft delicate hands

All my beating 

Red Churches keys 

Here in this present moment 

as each joyous new day 

breaks upon the upcoming horizons

Within my mind 

as I take a deep breath 

and abruptly awake from contemplation 

In this silence 

I still crave her pure voice 

and a little bit of her warm touch

For I know deep down 

as my soul for her yells

It will always be forever

For we have gone through a lifetime 

in such a short while

Ran through intense miles of pain 

and endured and conquered 

too much

And it's now why I live in hope 

as if caught living under a spell 

as I clutch and ring this 

metaphorical doorbell 

To be welcomed 

as just another kindred guest at 

The SoulMate Hotel  

Well thanks for reading but before I go

Always remember to ask for help because you never know who's watching 

Sending love and light and always try to 

Look after yourself

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Image courtesy of Pinterest. 

The Last Words of Atticus

  

Press play before reading.

Salute.

(A lone voice whispers)

Now my life's great party 

is over and this Black Hole  

 

I now live within 

Ruled over by Father Sin  

Which just loves to breathe 

me in and out 

Like the silver flutes once did 

When I used to walk by 

and watch the marching Bands 

of Manhattan play 

Smiling 

as the Majorettes 

twirled their shiny batons 

High in the sky

Oh, what I wouldn't give 

in this loud sound of silence

  

To quieten this startling pain 

that still hurts the most  

Even though 

I'm now just another 

lonely ghost

My cherished memories 

Of you 

Will always be my 

Immortal key 

Home

As I wait in here 

to atone

 

I used to pray 

that I'd wake up free 

from this asylum 

In the warm arms 

of my beloved 

but now lost Angel 

But no matter 

how hard the memories 

or even how painful 

 I'll keep it 

as a happy place 

Filled with all her love 

and photographs 

So, I'll just wait here 

In a hidden place 

found on no handwritten 

or drawn maps 

 

Somewhere 

Lost 

As I flutter 

my white flag of defeat  

In the cold and hot heat 

of The Great In-Between 

 

Lingering 

by these bright lights 

like I was 

walking on the Moon 

Kicking up broken 

white stones 

 

Singing sad songs 

for the hordes 

Standing 

in the creepy shadows 

On these mean streets

Watching me crying 

like a wounded King 

 

Come Back   

Don't fear us 

you won't fall 

They all chant 

as the Golden Bell rings 

 

The Crying Game 

needs feeding 

The eleven-inch nails 

need pulling out 

to stop the bleeding 

 

Stay with us 

The Nameless Things   

We who whisper and sing 

in the Dark 

all around you 

 

But all by myself 

I'll try to stay alive 

Somehow 

 

 They can keep their 

Poison and Red Wine 

Their Civil Wars 

Where even gravity falls 

 

Either way 

Here is my lone call 

 

You'll always be my reason  

My every time  

My light in this dark 

No matter the seasons 

For all my rivers of memories 

and worn-out road maps

Interweaved 

in my heavy head 

and embedded 

in my weary heart 

Always lead me 

Riding in paper boats

Back to you 

 In this mad mad world 

Even though now everything 

has fallen apart 

Just like us two

A pair of Father Times 

many heartbroken 

sweethearts

Mon seul espoir dans un monde sombre 

 (My only hope in a dark world)

 

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Image courtesy of Pinterest.