Astral Dreams

 

A surreal, dreamlike journey through a dark, symbolic landscape populated by famous literary figures like Lord Byron, Carol Ann Duffy, and Edgar Allan Poe. 

Blending Gothic elements with themes of isolation, magical transformation, and a final, painful return to self-awareness and healing. 

Literary Allusions & Figures: 

Lord Byron & Carol Ann Duffy: Represent romantic grandeur mixed with contemporary, poignant observation. 

Edward Thomas & Gretel: 

A blend of a real-world war poet (Thomas) with a fairytale archetype (Gretel), staging a surreal wedding.

Louise Glück & Conrad Aiken: 

Figures of profound introspection and gothic haunting standing witness in the gloom.

Edgar Allan Poe & Robert Frost: 

Poe anchors the dark, gothic, raven-esque atmosphere, while Frost serves as a psychological alchemist, conjuring a storm of fear.

Themes: Isolation and Safety: 

The narrator seeks safety in numbers of literary ghosts while wandering a dark, astral forest. 

Surreal Transformation:

Fairy-tale innocence meets literary melancholy in candlelight.

Redemption: 

The storm leads back to a rose-petalled path, suggesting that true healing and self-discovery ("the one called Elkind") are found only through brokenness and deep introspection.

(A lone voice whispers) 

Lost in the Ballard of Reading 

In the Darkness 

With the narrating

Well dressed

Lord Byron

I found a distressed Carol Ann Duffy

Wandering

Lonely 

In the Dark

And in that Dark Forest

As we held hands 

For safety 

As we wandered

In that strange astral park

We found a candlelit clearing 

And watched as

Edward Thomas

Dressed in blue

Propose to the stunning Gretel 

Dressed in white

Ivory 

As we hid

Hiding 

In the Darkness 

Watching that surreal scene

Like a candlelit priory

Like how 

The marriage was overlooked 

By the beautiful smiling

Louise Glück

In that deep gulf

With The Vampire called Conrad Aiken

Who many had tried 

To put a stake in

Dressed in red and black

And The Raven 

Edgar Allan Poe

And as my favourite dream faded 

Before I could see Thomas and Gretel

Conjugated

As time flowed  

I came to be lost

Suspended and swept up 

In a Storm of Fear 

Conjured up by the alchemist and magician

Robert Frost

Only to find my way home

Walking the rose-petalled pathway

Only the broken can find

The one called Elkind

Etched and inscribed 

In the heartbroken blind

Recesses of the mind

(C) 

Copyright John Duffy