The Rise and Fall of Sun and Moon

 

(A lone voice sings by campfire)

Drifting on a lone cloud
I sing

Of things
Once seen
Within

With
The Sun and Moon
Who knows my name

For they too
Rise
And set

The world over
In pain

So I dream
Oh
I dream again

Whispering to them both

O tell me
O tell me
Friends

Will I dream alone
Until the end

And into solitude
Descend

Or will wisdom's spirit
Fly to me

So tell me
O tell me
Friends

Sun and Moon

Will I wander
With this hole

In my endless
Dark Night
Of the Soul

Or will my world
My Great Seal
Hear me

And help me
Heal

So
Tell me
O Tell me
Friends

Was all revealed
From beginning
About the end

When I caught
Her white feather
Spinning

So
Tell me
O tell me

Elemental Spirits and
Friends

I call to you
Both

O
Sky and Moon

Will I love once more
And open
A new door

To feel what's
Real
In this endless quest

As I try to pass
All tests
Once set

Or will
Whispers

From Sun and
Moon

Tell me
Wait

For
She comes

Riding
On waves

Of The Winter's
Monsoon

And to still sing
The lost echoes

Of this

A once-lost
Tune called

The Rise and Fall of Sun and Moon

For
She comes

Riding
On waves

Of The Winter's
Monsoon

(C)

Copyright John Duffy

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#poetry

Aspire

 

(A lone voice whispers)

To circumvent the irreducible

To find a lasting legacy

To endure within

Life's ever so fast-flowing crucibles

Tell someone some stories

Make up some stories

In books or poetry 

Create the foundations of your own divine masterpiece 

Be a glorious priceless commodity displaying such incredible magnanimity

It's how you'll soar to newer heights from here to infinity 

Listen to me as I whisper

The old master of life's crucibles

Don't just be a daily ritual 

You adhere to

As you slowly search, 

Looking for a way 

To get through 

But be expressive 

Beyond excessive 

Be wilfully wild

Like an unruly child

And bravely say

Rules were always meant to be broken 

Or will you simply drift

Socially conditioned

To a dark place

Where dreams and possible stories 

And all their glories

Languish 

Forever held in check

Never to be spoken 

Chained to your minds 

Dark unparalleled 

Unvisited pillars 

Lying abandoned and unspoken, 

Or will you instead 

Rise

Like a phoenix 

From scorched remains

Embrace life and all you meet

Before the Dark Tall Man

Calls 

And stops you as your living soul has to silently admit defeat 

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Haiku

 

The boy sees the rain

His feet and hair gets so wet

Monsoon season love

(C) Copyright John Duffy 

#Haiku

575

Forerunner Dreams

 Press play.

Forerunner Dreams

To shake off darkness

When the pain comes creeping in

I still think of you

(C) Copyright John Duffy 

#Senryu

575

Friendships Beyond Time And Space

 Every time I come online, someone I once knew has crossed over.

So before we enter into the second month of a new year, here's a piece to ponder upon.

Salute.

___________

In time 

As the slow seconds 

Tick

We can sometimes 

Forget

As we wilfully enjoy 

Our lives

And all the ensuing 

Politics 

The family 

Or friends

We've always taken for 

Granted 

Might be unknowingly 

Struggling 

Or in a real fix 

So this year 

Break those chains

Of self-imposed bondage 

Acknowledge 

That they maybe 

Alone or feeling 

Despondent 

Remember 

To still visit 

Those friends and family you cherish 

With fondness 

For all clocks tick

And follow

A strange and

Mysterious dance

Remember 

To embrace their love and friendship 

 

While they're still alive

Whilst 

You still have 

A chance 

In 2025

(C)

Copyright John Duffy

Are we like the mythical Adam and Eve?

 Press play.

___________________

Are we like the mythical Adam and Eve?

(A lone voice whispers to his true love as Mother Moon, watches)

My Sophia

Are we are like the mythical

Adam and Eve

Walking upon the grey shores

Of a lost planet

Hidden in the deepest of space

Our true love holding us

Knee-deep in make believe 

As if buried alive

Where we will witness

The birth of nebula's

Stars

And rediscovered Old Gods

A new Atlantis

Filled with wild pagan beasts and jealous old women and men

Where we will stride beyond the reach of the

Masters of the Masonic Temples

Erecting their secretive

Light barriers

So we can part the soft pink pages

In our own Books of Exquisite Pleasure

To be then perused and used

At our inquisition and leisure

As we watch the fall of the new AI-driven human

With the rise of the

Cosmic Red Serpent

Laying upon the yellow sands and shorelines

As the new time of crucifixions begins again 

To see the visceral sights and smells 

As new spellbound disciples yell 

Palaces and institutions 

May burn and be

Aflame before us

A new vision of a world consumed with

Corruption and sin

For as we watch, we will know

We are lone riders of

The Great Red Dragon once foretold

We are some of the mythical poets and writers 

World and Empire 

Watchers

Who never grow old

We 

Me and you 

My Sophia

My queen

Who collects the Universes many hidden stories

For in time

To be simply retold

We 

Just reborn as poets today

No longer

Citizens of any known countries

Just sent again

From The Great In-Between

To release new thoughts and words like red balloons to float 

To encourage and nourish inquisitive minds

Which are perpetually hungry

For enchanting new stories

To rebel in this glory

Contained and captured in this 

Our everlasting promissory note

Released like celebration balloons 

Into new readers minds

To forever 

Settle or float 

Copyright John Duffy

Infidelity

 

Infidelity 

l still miss that sweet voice

Whose noise used to make my heart rejoice 

But choices made need to be paid without delay

So the Big Old Church Book says

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Foundation of the piece.

The person who thought the grass was greener on the other side.

Channeling Eros

 Foundation of the piece.

Why do people get into relationships when they know deep down, it won't end well?

Are they under a spell?

Channeling Eros

(A lone voice whispers) 

Why must the soul within you all

Constantly seek out momentous defining emotions

Require it so damn deep

Covet and desire extraordinary sensations to rebel wildly within

To show the many sad watchers

Who fears that uncontrollable need to follow

That unconscious craving bound to ungodly bargaining

Which could ultimately destroy all they know if my red pill they swallow

Whilst lost in the throes of physical thoughts 

Linked to carnal sin

Where in their soft arms 

We 

Love embodied in such as me

Could eventually break you in two 

Is that why my gift of devotion is such a powerful tool

For the many in humanity who throughout all eternity and to this glorious day

It still wonderfully constantly fools

(C)

Copyright John Duffy

Image by Artist George Redhawk

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Can you remember your first kiss?

 

Have you experienced Want?

 

(A lone voice whispers)

Am I the sacred answer you all still seek

In 2025

As you thrive

You the strong

Or you maybe the weak

Could I but be your embodiment

Of a divine heaven or much-needed spell in hell

To increase the flow of every single red blood cell

Some say I’m the sweetest lullaby dark angels sing

A sonnet of damnation or intense pleasure for the soul

As it grows as life's golden wedding bells still rings 

Am I but the luscious green meadow of sensuous experiences 

Everyone wishes to go through

From the curious to the notorious 

Knee deep

Before they leave this land

To trespass to who knows

My weapons have started and ended so many wars

On personal and world stages 

And history throughout the ages is littered with my scars

So am I but the all-consuming knife

To pierce the cold hearts and lonely minds

Of those who linger lost 

Below the long tall shadows

Desperately seeking something

To reignite their light

I've been called the true life force of all creatures

Big or small

Untamed or just broken

Ancient woodland groves 

Still sing pagan spoken songs of me in the darkness

Many old names are conjured and woken 

But only one remains

I live to revisit shamefully darkly lit places

And opulent palaces of loquacious words of lascivious sin

As it happens 

Bedrooms

Woods and hotel rooms 

Still carry the lingering sensual

Scent of my many visits

And they all pine and

All pray for my return

As twenty-five minutes ends

Like mankind's four legged friends 

Am I but the sunless sustenance 

Your lonely soul needs

For once you are firmly within my grasp

I will own you for all your remaining

Days and nights

For once you’ve tasted my sweet red liquor

I’ll always own you as long as your light flickers

For I can be the new Adam or old Eve

Forever stalking your own

Gardens of Creation

I've walked through all countries naked

This you better believe 

And my name is often carried upon the wet hungry lips

Of the seduced 

Within every nation

I could be the very glimmer

You need

To survive 

Whilst lost in the darkness

But also the greedy temptation of The 

Almighty Black Sun

The giver of reconciliation of the soul and the knife-edge 

On which you may perpetually balance

Do you know my name yet

I'm simply the two-edged sword bestowed to all living creatures

From so high above

My name is already known to you.

So much happiness in pain 

Within four letters

I've been around forever

Just ask your ancestors as you pray tonight 

And they'll say

Want always appears in the heat of sensual pleasure 

Smiling like a Demi God in the half light

At the thought of 

If she'll be still welcomed home 

Tomorrow night

(C) Copyright John Duffy 

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Solus

 

(A lone voice whispers)

 

Here I am

All alone again

On my own

Still looking for an unspoken reason

Why do we keep deceiving

Are we still lost in a place

Overflowing with past mistakes

Where we always hurt the ones we love

Is there no room now

For give or take

Are you lost to me forever

No matter how much our heartaches

So I'll just say these words

Even though

The silence between us grows 

Beyond the mean words

We throw

Why do we hurt the ones

We love so much

When we judge

Can’t we just go back

To how it used to be

Me and you

Against the world

No matter who sees 

Is it too late

Will you wait

For

Here I am

All alone again

Still looking for a reason

Still waiting for a meeting

Are we lost in a dark place

Overflowing with mistakes

And heartbreak

Is there

No more give or take

Has our old love

Run its course

Aren’t you filled

Like me

With a drop of remorse

Are we past the point of no

Return

Don’t worry if it's

True

I’ll learn

I’ll move on

But still, I'll listen to these

My new favourite lyrics 

As I grieve 

Why do we hurt

The ones we love

When we judge

When they leave 

(C) Copyright John Duffy

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What does the Greek word Solus mean?

Alone; by oneself

  

 

The Old Man's Monologue

 

(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 hair girl

I once used to date

In the fifties 

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 that 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

That those images of her standing in the kitchen

With those beautiful green eyes and wide beaming smile

Cooking and singing 

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

Until we are once more 

Reunited

Will always remain

The same 

If you can hear this

Just know I still treasure those memories of us

The ones where you were free and truly alive

Like the day we first met

When we walked and talked

Singing outside misty-eyed

Just like another two young strangers

In true love 

Getting wet

(C)

Copyright John Duffy

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Press play

 

Apollo

 

Press play 

If Life was a Senryū

 From relationships to emotions, connected to everything.

Love and pain are two constant themes we must endure in life.

From loving those we love to then losing them.

To the other side of the wide spectrum, depression, linked to trauma, for whatever reasons.

If Life was a Senryū

I give you freely 

Relationships love and pain 

In any order. 

(5,7,5)

(C) Copyright John Duffy 

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The Dream Walker

(A lone voice whispers)

Hello dear reader 

My silent old curious friend

Have you returned 

To read my surreal thoughts again

The ones I write here

With my favourite  

Black and white pen

Stories and poems collected 

From when I'm sleeping

When I listen to lost souls

When they are speaking

Of how they miss walking in the rain

Like grey wolves

And touching loved ones who still remain

Especially now 

In 2025

Within this political winter

Lost in colourful visions 

We talk in silence

Walking through some side streets

Filled with love or spiritual violence

To narrow side roads filled with cobblestone

As newly elected dictators or spectators

Try to run the old asylums

It's usually at three o'clock

When those quiet friendly voices stop

That I then see a brief flash of light

Lighting up the early morning night

They always appear 

Standing on my right

Maybe twenty-five or more

Just hiding behind a shadowy door

More voices, always talking without speaking

As I stand 

Quietly listening

They talk of dark things I'd never share

For if I did 

They said they'd haunt you too

Since they just love stalking the unprepared

I'll now go and no more disturb your sound of silence

For even fools knows 

Like cancer 

Trouble grows

Hear these words and when they try to call

Knocking to tempt you up at three o'clock

Before the early morning cock crows

Like quiet raindrops 

Which echo in white noise

As they hide 

Hidden from view

From a strange place that no one

Knows

No matter how hard they beg and pray

Like the many fallen idols, they have made

Use these words as flashing warning signs

That I send 

Before they try 

To get you to play

While pretending 

To be a friend 

Listen to these words as they are forming

And heed them as a careful warning

Those that walk like lost prophets

In between the many dimly lit subway walls 

In complete silence

Always avoid them like the plague with defiance

For they only bring damnation

From the secluded islands

Like seductive but sinister sirens

For they are mankind's hunters

Who stalks the living 

Like Enoch's biblical giants

Who wants to license your soul to pledges and passports

Where there is no hope for guidance

For they wish to rule and be your new tyrant

As you are seduced by their old magic

You now believe to be based on just science

So hello reader,  

My silent old friend

Did you enjoy reading 

my strange curious thoughts again

To here 

The very end?

(C)

Copyright John Duffy

A dash of fun at 3 am.  

Salute

The voice of Miss Hughes

 The voice of Miss Hughes

When I look out at the world as one great big muse

I can see the real war still continues

Between the material and the spiritual

A timeless theme repeated constantly on the news of people being used 

Going back to Cain and Abel

People judging while searching for their own form of big answers

Whilst sitting at their version of a God's big table 

Would you take the red or blue pill 

Some ask and be put to task 

As you wear your beloved mask

But God has already answered

For your face will soon show who you really are 

For whatever you feel or think is only skin deep

It just takes time for that realization to materialize to sink in

And to finally understand 

A spiritual war is always in full flow 

To save yourself, 

You just have to be careful 

Where and who your energy is drawn to 

Since you're part of a much bigger picture show 

Than you can ever know 

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

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The Cemetery Letter Found

The Cemetery Letter Found

Marylou

In a dream, 

I met you in its dark space

Conjured by my prayers.

You wore bright blue

With a red rose in your blonde hair

And a soft smile on your beautiful face

Two souls

In a rare place 

Free from politics

Fear or complaints

I still sometimes dream and think of you

But dreams can be but silent heralds and banner men of a soul's starvation

And can lead to its spiritual destruction 

A slow starvation and spiritual destruction 

That can drive you insane with pain

A thought of which there is no debate

As one loses things to say, and prays to dream again

As it gets late

So today 

I find solace in my old Russian friend Dostoevsky

Melodramatic

Extreme 

Cerebral and drown like a fish in his incredible realism

So I now know

Like all realists do 

Sometimes you just have to let go

No more wandering barefoot in the snow in dreams

But to move on

To wake up even though inside you might hurt and pine

And realise

You just have to keep following life and walking in its straight lines

For sometimes lost and still dreaming of the past 

Can be one of life's secret Rodgers and Hammerstein

Theatrical crimes

(C) Copyright John Duffy 

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Harold's letter found in his briefcase

 

Harold's letter found in his briefcase

You always look like a stunning daydream

A young Katharine Hepburn 

A true African Queen

With crow black hair and dark mesmerizing eyes 

That cry out and scream

I'm unique, 

The strongest independent woman you've ever seen.

So bend thy knee

And I'll show you some wild sights 

I know 

You've prayed every night to see

To make you mine

As I turn your whole world 

Right upside down 

So here's to you

My midnight African Queen who makes me go weak at my knees

Whenever I see your beautiful pictures

Just waiting for you to call me on 

(555) 555-1334 and come around

To knock on my front door so we can go around town and paint it red

When this

My only love letter is finally posted and found

And you hear my familiar voice 

Talking in your head

(C) Copyright John Duffy 

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So you like poetry?

 Pablo's Monologue 

So 

Do you like rhyming 

Like clocks likes chiming

You do know a little known fact

Don't you

Creating whispered poetry right out of the blue is a sign of higher intelligence 

For writing about themes linked to detritus

Can help someone cope through words presented 

To invoke eloquent consequences 

Through circumstantial catharsis 

To help just someone step back and recover from the malevolence precipice

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Detritus

noun: the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up

Need some inspiration?

 

Fortitude 

Do you sometimes look back through the misty window of yesteryear

And see how far you've come 

As you still run

Seen those old fall me down days as the days that made you rise

With a strength that made many silently step back in surprise

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Demencia (S)

 Demencia (S)

On any given midnight 

Beneath each and every fallen night sky

Living lost 

In this wild city's jungles

Your memories linger

Growing in numbers

Like passing country fairs

Walking in unexpectedly 

Smiling like a reborn JFK

Only to be stolen away 

By Father Time 

Like a new Cunningham

Burke or Hare

Life's true 

Ladrona de tumbas

Of T cells

As he erodes eventually 

Everything he touches

As my synapses crumbles

And I enter a new hell 

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Foundation of the piece.

Dementia.

Ladrona de tumbas (S)

Grave robbers

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Need a lift?

 

Here's to you 

All the creatives

The gifted natives 

Who know

How powerful the impact 

Of poetry and its estate is

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Emancipation

 

Press play.

The Voice of Kübler-Ross

 

The Voice of Kübler-Ross

As a lost soul-searching for their loved one,

As I still grieve

After ten years 

Who crossed the Silver Pond 

My question always is

Do people still believe,

there is life beyond

God's 

Great Beyond?

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

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The Pied Piper of Agartha

 Foundation of the piece.

Do you sometimes wish to escape the hectic noise and low vibrational energy, in the world, today?

The Pied Piper of Agartha

(A lone voice sings within a whisper)

Would you willingly follow me 

Into the Green Hollow

If I pulled back the veil 

And showed you a way in 

To get swallowed 

To escape 

To a wild world of verbs and contradictions

With love and laughter 

Singing and whispering like loose

Chord progressions

As the old world recedes 

Into the distance 

To escape from your weary grotto of 

Penitentiary existence 

To unite in the Green Hollow

With others

Poets 

Singers

Writers and all good folk

As our last line of resistance 

From a world subjugated by darkness

As kindness

Compassion and Love 

Are no longer viewed 

As a pièce de résistance

So

Would you willingly follow me

Into the Green Hollow

If I pulled back the veil

And showed you a way in 

To get swallowed 

To escape 

To a wild world of verbs 

And contradictions

With love and laughter 

 Singing and whispering 

Like loose

Chord 

Progressions

As your old world 

Recedes 

Into the 

Distance 

To escape 

From your weary grotto 

Of penitentiary existence 

To unite in my Green Hollow

My Green Hollow 

As your life's

As your life's

Pièce de Résistance

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

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The Enochian

 The Enochian

(A lone voice whispers)

Some may sometimes wonder if the Shadows are at work

When depravity and desire explode like New Year's Eve fireworks 

While the Blind don't see

But swim in its dark seas

Daily

Saturated by its rain

Then caught and consumed like Atlantic Bluefin Tuna

By the Devil's Networks

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Foundation of the piece.

Has the commercialisation of sex and depravity, saturating nearly all forms of media, happened by insidious design?

To reshape and desensitize humanity?

The Monologue of The Toll Keeper

 

 (A lone voice whispers)

Do you want to hear some whispered rules from the Great In-Between

The Fourth Dimension 

Well, here goes

Number 1

Find an everlasting love song

Knee-deep in lust for a real-life

And make

Number 2

Unrequited love

The Rebellious Song of the Transformational

As you throw away its emotional sharp knife

Make number 3

A layer cake of evocative delicious delights

To be explored and greedily devoured with your dearly beloved

Hidden from the watching dark shadows  

Like thieves all around you

In the middle of any given night

And find number 4

The ancestral strength in midnight memories and ritualistic ceremonies

Of deep meaningful love 

Within echoes from those now out of sight

Ascended so high above 

To regain number 5

The strength to carry on and fight to finally

Find loves hidden highways and as you take flight

To embrace the sacred thought that your Guardian Angels

Always watch over and protect you and your family and friends in every way

Especially at night with their unspoken prayers

And you my beautiful child 

Will be okay 

In all of your life's affairs

Whatever angels or demons 

Some of our earthly concessionaires

For upstairs or downstairs

Whisper or say

When they come out to play

 

(C)

Copyright John Duffy

Did love break you?

 Corazón

(A lone voice whispers)

When your Corazón

Broke you in two 

Like America

With the war on cotton

Did you become one of Corazón orphan's

Filled with precautions

Praying for another's heart

In the long run

As you weighed up newer options 

(C) Copyright John Duffy 

What does Corazón mean in English?

The heart.

Foundation of the piece.

Are the once broken more selective?

Eternal Love

 Eternal Love 

(A lone voice whispers)

A pure love once found 

Before birth

At the beginning

Then once lost

While crossing the Great Barrier and Frost 

To walk on mortal grounds

With those mesmerized by sinning

Through gold and pleasure 

Is a beauty bound

To search for

In all weathers 

By the longing sounds

That forever

Binds and calls to

Two souls 

Entwined and enshrined 

To come together 

By once hearing

Angels singing 

In unison

As Time 

Unwinds

In a profound place 

When lovers 

First met 

Before crossing the Great Barrier and Frost 

To get their souls wet

In the mortal lands of sinning

Unknowingly knowing 

They were marked 

Before birth

As lovers

At the beginning 

Copyright John Duffy

Foundation of the piece.

Do we have a true soulmate, once met before birth, and are we just drawn unconsciously to find them?

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Growing up

 

Growing up

(A lone voice whispers)

Do you remember your first encounter with libido

That wild exhilarating

deep dive into the unknown

The first kiss leading to home base

As ecstasy consumed your whole psyche and face

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Foundation of the piece.

Do you, maybe after all these years, still remember your first love, wherever you go?

 

The Mage

 

Which realm do you live within?

(A lone voice whispers)

The Dimension of Thought and the Material World

The Third Spiritual Dimension

Controlled and led blindly by these realities of thoughts of some sorts

I'm Mortal and so fragile

That I need to find some sort of power to help defeat or rule others

Because I'm so driven to need society things

And all things hinge

On the big indeed of

I need someone to make me feel truly whole 

Or are you a spiritual traveller like me 

Who likes to take close control of magical spaces

And races into

A Higher World

On top of this material world

To The Fourth Dimension

Where anything is possible beyond comparison or comprehension 

From ideas

Conceptions 

Interactions and spiritual 

Projections

To drive

Words and actions like supernatural flowing poetry 

In a divine form of symmetry 

For jumping from the Third to the Fourth while one lives 

Can help one prepare for the 5th

Heaven and the Plane of Light

Where God 

In whatever form with its judgement persists

And you

It might just forgive 

For by living

We are all spiritual beings living through conflicts

Awaiting judgment 

Like convicts

When it's time

For our Inter-Dimensional-Planes

To shift 

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

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Life

 

Every day, I die inside

Quietly 

Hiding what I feel

As my alter

Takes control of my mind's

Steering wheel

Foundation of the piece.

Does the days and years seem to drift 

As the real you

Hides 

Alone 

Lost within the mind's mists?

From relationships to work.

Are modern relationships just driven and maintained by endless mundane repetition?

(C)

Copyright John Duffy

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Memories

  (A lone voice whispers)

I heard I'd lost a much cherished friend today

Such a wild joker

Irrepressible smile

Epic rave dancer 

In her tight black jumpsuit 

Wearing tiger balm and red lipstick 

Who I loved to talk to on those 90s old black telephones

Rolled into one ball of irresistible energy 

Oh, we had such irreversible fun whilst we were young but cancer

Came calling in her later years

And she got shot by his bright white SV40 gun 

So now I grieve

For like so many others

Those we once loved

No matter how brief 

From January to December 

We always love them more when we remember 

As their fire burns low

But never goes out

Like a never-ending 

Bonfire night ember

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Has someone taken you for granted?

 

Genetic, environmental, and social behaviorism.

(A lone voice whispers)

Some people today, don't abide by the royal seals of light, trust and loyalty.

They just joyously abide by the dark sides, cruel seals of impropriety and disloyalty.

(C) 

Copyright John Duffy 

Foundation of the piece.

In today's culture, do people seem more likely to take advantage of someone, regardless of the impact?

Due to cultural norms, linked to taking people for granted, and the rising lack of gratitude, leading to relinquishing loyalty to those, who once helped them?

From work, family to friends.

Have you encountered this rather low level of engagement?

HMS Philanderer

(A lonely voice whispers)

Like my ship

The Philanderer 

I've sailed through love

Like an eager Christopher Columbus

Only to now ride the mythical number ten bus

To the sad lands of

Numbus

Copyright John Duffy 

Foundation of the piece.

Are modern dating platforms, creating a playground, when quantity is valued above quality, in lasting relationships?

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Relationships

Relationships

Do old memories (5)

Materialize quickly (7)

At random moments (5)

And from their sounds and visual delights

Aren't we just hoarders of all we feel

To carry like thieves

Into 

The longest of dark nights 

(C)

Copyright John Duffy

Image shared under fair usage policy from Pinterest.
 

Are you still clutching your Molotov Cocktail

 

Press play.

Are you still clutching your Molotov Cocktail 

(A lone voice whispers)

Could the sorrowful echoes in empty minds

Mean it's time to remind lost souls

To carefully unwind

And revisit cherished times

When love was once so kind 

When Mother Moon dropped such a captivating warm smile

As long as a nautical blue mile

Is it then they will know

Not to wait another second or a short while

Never to put Real Love on trial

But simply to embrace it and accept all it brings

Whatever your lifestyle

For real love has never always been for sale 

Even for the brave willing to pay the hard price

For a taste of a forbidden paradise

Some say she comes like a cunning lone thief in the darkest of nights

Just wanting new souls to sit with and gleefully watch new scripts play out

New stories filled with happiness

Sadness or even blackmail

For 

Fake love

Cheap love 

Bad love

Hard love 

Quick love

Every love but never true love

Some whisper and whistle

Has always been for sale

For finding true love is like clutching a Molotov cocktail

In a fast-flowing gale 

And trying to keep it lit

Some say it doesn't exist, and it's just an old wives tale

But trust me 

When you've been burnt by that Molotov cocktail

You'll clutch on to it 

With all your strength

Until your coffin receives

Its last stainless-steel nail

Copyright John Duffy

The Woman lost to Marius

 

(A lone voice whispers)

Some say

Seeing is believing

But how can you see what you feel? 

When you start grieving

While the black hearse of loving is leaving 

Leaving once treasured things behind 

Things like sweet love letters

Wedding rings

Perfume filled white sweaters

Memories and all things once kind and divine 

Which once made your soul sing

So to me, it's a lie

While I live through each day, but inside quietly die 

Listening to some still say

Seeing is believing

And knowing 

How can you see what you feel 

When you start grieving?

When the black hearse of loving is leaving 

And you're quietly going out of your mind 

Like a victim of organised crime

When your marriage to the hand, you once loved 

Has ran out of earthly time

And is no longer in your realm 

Breathing 

(C) Copyright John Duffy 

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Be Courageous

 

Be Courageous

Have a wonderful first week in January!

I rather enjoy inspiring others.

Isn't that why we were all born?

Title:

Be Courageous 

(A lone voice whispers)

Within time

Whispered Mister Emotions

You will need me more

As you slowly turn 

Father's Times

Ancient books 

Full of loose pages

Your memories 

May slowly start to fade

As dark shades cloud your

Mortality

As you 

Year by year 

Unfortunately age

But I will stay loyal

And within

A scent

Old treasured letters

Or just pictures

I am reborn

For 

I am the trigger 

In your sleeping gun

The golden bullets

To revive your mind

Although 

The world around you

May slowly 

Turn dark

Although you 

Maybe

Lonesome 

Happy

Godless

Faithful 

Meek

Or truly just

Strong

I am but one of the many 

Silent gatekeepers

Who protect your life's works

And many songs

Its tales of romance

Happiness and love

All of your majestic empires

Just lying silently

Within dark keeps

So look in the mirrors and see

If you can feel me

See that beautiful reflection 

In those mesmerizing sparkling

Bright eyes

That's me

So

Wear courage like a second

Skin wherever you go

The masses might whisper

Collude

Remark and say

It cannot be done

Put those dreams down and

Go hide them away

Look at him or her

They're losing their

Touch

Multitudes may proclaim

With glee 

As you endure

Spells of failure

Quick to mention 

It's beyond your reach 

Or regalia

But you my reader 

Are a creation of such beauty

Those dreams embody

The strength and power 

Of your souls own duty

So rise up

In front

Of their precious scrutiny

Show them the harmonious

Collaboration of inner faith

And belief

Step above their glorious lies

And continue to rise

It's how you'll escape

and succeed

In front of their 

Jealous

Green eyes

Copyright John Duffy 

 

The Viewer from Beyond

(A lone voice whispers)

A carefree spirit once sung

Like a reborn Easy E

While rushing 

To make a wild case

About real loving

For a life living like the guy up West 

Who created Yeezys 

Isn't easy without faith

So just ask your intuition 

Like you're asking Saint Francis of Assisi

Is your belief in something or someone higher

Regardless of your race

Been eroded

So you know and feel nothing

Foundation of the piece.

Are future generations been subtly steered away from a belief in a high frequency and power 

To beings of lower frequencies linked to desire and fire 

Through anxiety

Modern cultural

Pop

Politics 

Media and society?

Copyright John Duffy 

Have you found true love yet?

 

(A lone voice whispers)

And so here we are

Two souls 

Who have travelled through all weathers 

So far

Sometimes with hands held

Tightly, 

Sometimes in spirit 

Sometimes through fire

But all the time

Together 

Braving the looks and gossips of all the world's many soul draining vampires

Climbing over all obstacles laced with metaphorical barbwire

To walking through wildfires

Like Lord Narayan and Goddess Mahalakshmi 

And that my love

Is why I still love you

For you're so special

And you help me renew

And those two are the only things that matters or attracts me

As you keep me afloat and navigating 

Life's Black Sea

(C) Copyright John Duffy 

Foundation of the piece.

Does finding true love 

Bring with it, courage but more importantly

a sense of spiritual growth and self rejuvenation

Each morning as one wakes up next to their true love?

Poetic Therapy

And so like David Copperfield 

I disappear through words

So you can heal

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Foundation of the piece 

A study found composing poetry created a meaningful way to process complex emotions

And attempting to find certain words to represent feelings 

Can help to reduce the emotional mind enduring stress

And so for so

Poetic Therapy

Is such magical fun

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The Curo

 The Curo

(A soft soothing voice whispers)

Hey,

I'm talking to the inner you

That curious child who never died as you grew

What do you sense or see 

When you hear my voice

Within your head 

Above the tranquility or violence of modern living

Do you unconsciously instinctively get me

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Foundation of the piece.

Do we instinctively get drawn to certain works by chance, or by our inner child's, curious eyes?

The Appointment

 The Appointment 

(A lone happy voice whispers)

I went to the doctor's today

At 9 am for my results appointment 

Like one of those disciples at the last supper

Scared beyond belief

I walked in smiling the widest smile I could conceive

But when she told me 

Relax 

It's all gone

And you're all clear

I then smiled 

With utter relief

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Foundation of the piece.

Visiting the doctors or hospital can be such a traumatic time, and one can sometimes put on a brave front.

But when all ends well, have you felt that thrilling pure, unadulterated adrenaline, accelerate through your veins?

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The Appalachian

 Press play.

The Appalachian

(A lone voice whispers)

I was born at midnight when the stars shone

When Papa looked me over and said 

Ma

That boys wrong

But Ma said 

Pa

That boy will grow up

And he'll need support

For just know 

He's a voice and a great song

And so my friend

That's how my life begun 

In a caravan 

On the trail

Following the rising sun

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Foundation of the piece.

Are country folk the best folk untainted by society?

The Process

The Process

To some, 

Poetry is a sophisticated form of release

To others

A form of exquisite escapism from maybe escalating tensions 

Around the world

But a silent question 

A low whisper carried on the hungry lips of all those

Singing silent stories of love and pain 

Lost in thoughts 

In its delicious rain

Did that rhyme or do I have to rewrite it again

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Image shared under fair usage policy 

 

Happy New Year

 2025

And so another year begins

A year, hopefully filled with happiness and hallelujahs

Built up to stand resolutely on a foundation of inspired resolutions

As old and new dreams are kept alive or revived 

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

If Love could speak

 Did love, when tasted like a fine red or white wine, change you forever? 

Title: 

If Love could speak

(A lone voice whispers)

Yes, I

From whence all gloriously driven emotionally 

Notorious or mysterious sensuous pain or enjoyment 

Stems from

Heartbreaking strenuous anxiety but also soul rousing feelings 

Which beats loudly your life's drums like a reborn John Bonham

On a rare mid-summer night

Filled with wild rain or sun

Soaking all gathered with the precious aroma of an exquisite, expensive perfume

Which invades all minute spaces like an insidious thief

In any particular room

When l invite you 

If you dare 

To welcome me in

To then see the world through new crystalline lens

As your soul finally matures and burns

As it's put through my exceptionally complicated

But sophisticated extraordinary fires

To be eventually 

Willingly or unwillingly cleansed

By having an affair with me as I answer all of your hearts prayers

By leading you to my lair

Upstairs

By the hand 

Copyright John Duffy