Has The Cold Collector of Broken Hearts, visited you too?

Has The Cold Collector of Broken Hearts, visited you too?

(A lone voice whispers)

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I can still remember it so damn well

If this is my only chance left to confess 

It was on the fifteenth of June 

In 1998

When he came casually calling and shattered our incredibly conjured tender love spell

On the stroke of midnight 

Can you believe it 

No less 

A heart-wrenching moment our love died

Convulsing and shrieking on the grey altars of broken despair 

A beloved liaison I thought would last for all eternity 

But sometimes life itself

Even in all its endeavours of pure magnanimity 

Just doesn't play fair

And no matter how much I sadly cried all alone

Or stared filled with endless remorse and painful guilt 

On that fateful fifteenth of June 

In 1998

Whilst standing still looking up at that smiling white mischievous Wolf Moon

I just knew The Cold Collector of Broken Hearts would soon 

Be calling by later

For I'm sure when me and who I thought was my true love

Were arguing like crazy about the invisible supernatural forces 

That swirl all around us

Linked to fate and destiny 

And their profound impact on everyday realities

Shaping and creating all those tiny and major intricacies 

Unspoken of responsibilities linked to sacred vows 

Once exchanged in the low hours  

Anointing that wonderful thing I hoped she too cherished 

Called fidelity

I'm sure I heard a faint creepy voice 

Whisper amid that deep angry conversation in my left ear

A bizarre voice that sounded so guttural and soul-destroying as it uttered those words

It left me shaking and covered in goose pimples with fear

So pleased to finally meet you

I'm The Cold Collector of Broken Hearts

It looks and feels like I'll be seeing you sooner rather than later

Alligator

For all your hopes and deep dreams for the future

Looks and feels like they're falling apart

With this argument which I just love because it's so delightfully vicious

And that my friend is why I'm calling 

For its pulsating frequencies tastes so much like the rarest of all known looshe

And that my new disciple is why I'm here

For it's so damn addictive and just so breathtakingly delicious 

Copyright John Duffy 

Lady of the Dawn speaks

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Are fragments of your souls just components of your own unconscious ideas linked to many layers of heaven and hell

Are you too metaphorical to ever really understand

But still just another human living within and under its dark magical spell

Slowly waiting for the spiritual understanding as it returns to just you

To really see whatever you'll see in the afterlife 

When you watch your life back on that big silver TV

As you pray to our Lord 

The Great Almighty hoping he'll set you free

Is this place where you now visit and read from

But a brief refuge carefully hidden in the slow-moving storms of time

A respite in the face what you know needs to be done

A secret well-beaten shack 

Carefully concealed along the dark highways of deep spiritual fraternities

As we now together  connect mentally 

And merge slowly into a swirling eternity

From twisted emotional journeys unknown

To now friends and no longer strangers 

But just beloved people in distant foreign time zones

From deep lessons to be learned

To dark bridges which must be crossed and burnt

Are our eventual destinations and prophesied tasks greater than we can ever possibly know

To others, life is but a flicker and seems so easy

By to those blessed like us

Me and you

Is it but a strange dichotomy between peace and sorrow

Sometimes filled with anger and pain

Regardless of where we go tomorrow 

But no matter

For in the end

If we are lucky and truly blessed

We are all wrapped in white shawls of grace and deep spiritual peace

For if all our misdemeanours we eventually fully confess

We might hear the Almighty's beautiful voice speak these words personally again

It's an old song that some may forget

But I have the lyrics if you want to read on

Read on for they are free and you don't owe me anything 

Such as royalty fees or any other debts

Take me as a symbol of your need for release

Replace your hatred instead with love

Where there is an injury

Look above

Where there is doubt

Have faith and don't give up

If despair appears

Remember hope

When darkness glides in

Let light absolve its sin

Where life becomes unhappy

Smile and always try to remember these words

To sing

We are all tributaries leading back to the Holy River

Deep channels of our own divine peace

Remember to help pardon your own soul

Before you enter its beautiful gardens

For with inner forgiveness

We are reborn to eternal life

Free from all the burdens of our earthly emotional sharp knife

For I am beyond

What your occupation entails

I just want to trace what your heartbeats regale

Your age is a pale horse

I never what to see

I just want to hear of your hopes and dreams

Will you risk all for love and spiritual glory

To live an extraordinary life

Will you sit with me

In the sunlight's shadows

And reflect on life and try to smile again

Past all the doubts

And disturbing grey rain

Do you still seek to sip a drop of Loves glorious champagne

Will you dance with me in feverish ecstasy as happiness revisits your inner domains

Will you be a smiling passenger on one of my fast-moving trains

Free and with no limitations

Ready for pleasure and redemption beyond refrain

Will you soar with me

like two golden eagles

Above fast gossips

Whispering campaigns

What you answer

Doesn't matter to me

All your answers are simply for you

Can you say no to another to be true to your soul

Can you rise above false accusations

And still, keep your control

Can you cherish your own inner beauty

Beyond prying unfriendly eyes

And rise internally like an angel when hope seems to die

Can you parade with failure like long lost lovers

And salute the scarred silvery moon

As its bands play a dark ominous bleak tune

Your social status

I care of not

Only can you still rise

And embrace your lot

After the long nights of despair and pain

Will you rise to challenge this life again

Will you stand like a sentry lost in despairs inferno flames

Or will you ask me to help extinguish its name

I don't care for all your academic labels

I just wanted to know if you're willing and able

Or if you just needed another seat at your table

The company you keep in those dark days of empty lonely moments

Are like great friends who speak like trendy holy old poets

Are we today 

Simply an extension of that which resides within?

A projection from the source.

Will our soul eventually forget us

This vessel it now currently lives within, say in a thousand years

Or will it still remember this version of us 

Before we return to heaven after the last time we turn to dust?

 A rather deep thought.

Good night!

Copyright John Duffy

The Ministry of the Guardian Angel.

 

 (A lone voice whispers)

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It may be a memory of

Christmas's past

Of wonderful times that will always linger and still last 

I may be a beautiful lost sonnet echoing in the distance 

Making a quiet noise in fields of forgotten golden dreams

An extraordinary love song you may still hear above nightly screams

I may be a low whisper speaking such comforting illuminating truths within your beloved mind

A treasured memory you still revisit maybe all the time

I may be all these things and so many, many more

But even though I'm not standing beside you anymore

Just remember

It's just you I'll always adore

All my treasured memories may be painful as they too come rushing through familiar doors

But always remember

I'm now your heavenly

blessed protector and beloved guardian angel

Who's been appointed and duly summoned to help you to iron out

All those old emotions that still linger and last which you still feel are too painful to explore

Copyright John Duffy

A conjured piece from a low whisper.

Do you too believe in Guardian Angels?

I hope so.

The Voice of Pieta

The conversation between Giuseppe and his beloved Pieta.

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What becomes of the brokenhearted before we all get summoned home

By the Great Golden Horn 

Some out there 

I still hear ask 

On this final odyssey after you're born

As you and me and the rest of the gathering masses slavishly roam

Will we feel the hot magical touch of the mythical Babylonian fire 

When we eventually retire

And collapse exhausted amongst the other lost fallen children

Before the White Temples of our beloved Goddess Aphrodite

On a sad Good Friday

Some in here whisper and say to me in the dancing darkness

As we drink golden liquor and talk about life and all its never-ending scandals

Over the flickering light of a single lit red burning candle 

And as the encroaching shadows silently dance a pagan jamboree

She

My beautiful Pieta always says when she's lucid and licked up

Every time we talk

Sometimes to lose love and all thoughts of hope of happiness

To then feel crucified and heartbroken 

And all alone 

Praying for a form of salvation in those quiet moments 

To be purged of its invisible mark

Wishing that relationship had never started 

And as you try to cut through all the red tape and spiritual empires of fake illusions

That you still sometimes foolishly cling on to and try to blindly believe 

The whole process can help to make you stronger and more resilient 

As you then look for that one soul mate 

Just lost amongst the many billions

And as those sad tears seem to fall so slowly and Father Time starts passing so quickly 

When they both

suddenly merge

It may feel deep down inside like it's your own biblical End of Days

Your lonely sequestered route to an emotional Armageddon

But if you have hope that your own Guardian Angels know where you're heading

As they are quietly guiding and leading you to that sacred place where you've always dreamed of

Away from all the hungry Eyes of Mother and Father Heartless 

To eventually find and have your own metaphorical white wedding 

Your own incredible special day 

Baptised and blessed with finding someone new and so special or simply enjoying your newfound happiness 

As you step back into the light out of the darkness 

It's only then that the clutches of

Heartbreak be discarded

As you just recognised it for what it really is

Simply one of lifes most powerful weapons

But I guess you already know that if you've walked the path of the Heartbroken

Giuseppe

And spent so many of its shiny red tokens 

Sometimes crying long into the grey pools of stillness in deep silence 

Feeling like you're drowning at sea

Filled with so many swirling butterflies and nearly overcome with anxious feelings

Linked to emotional violence 

But then hopefully found someone or something new

To help you get through 

As Mother Love will always find a way

You know

For it has been said by countless saints and mystics for centuries 

She simply lives to help guide us away from a life of broken dreams

Wherever we go

For true spiritual liberation is sometimes impossible 

Without first feeling the sharp whip of hard separation 

Through a life-changing test of complete dissolution

Aren't you glad you found me, Giuseppe

And I always 

Always answer yes 

For my deep love for my Pieta 

Has helped purge me of my previous lifes sadness and regrets

Copyright John Duffy 

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Has the Voice of Courage spoken to you yet?

  

Have you the world shakers

Music makers

Poets 

Writers and entrepreneurs

Heard my softest of whispers that serenade you all from elsewhere?

Insidious does it seem to call

Inner murmurs that will not give you simple surrender or restful sleep

But a curious voice instead

Slowly vibrating throughout all your inner mental walls 

 

If you're blessed

A sweet voice that constantly whispers

To hold fast to your dreams

A voice that inspires your sometimes tired eyes to gleam

Some may smile and try to diminish

What flows throughout your fast-flowing bloodstreams

Some may laugh

For they haven't the strength self-belief or real courage

To try to adapt

To swim upstream

But to you

Yes you

Who aspire

Beyond momentary thoughts and daily daydreams

Those who embrace its soft whispering kiss

All your hopes and dreams will one day soon

Reign supreme 

For you are your own greatest dream redeemer 

And not just one of the billions 

Who aren't blessed to be one of lifes true believers

So be it

Copyright John Duffy

Reflections of the old Coal Miner.

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(A lone voice whispers)

I leave this

My beloved painting by my old shaking hand

Now I'm ninety-three

For my children and grandchildren to see

For soon  

I'll be with my wife and their beloved mother

My precious Annabel Lee

My painting so they can always remember

That I've climbed into all sorts of dirty pits

Starting many years ago

When Ma gave me my first snap box and sent me to work in late December

When at fourteen  

I got one of my many work permits

And since that first day, I've scrubbed for hours

To clean my decent hard-working soul

To be healthy for my family before I went home

After spending all day and night

Just digging deep for black coal

I was born just before gas was crowned as king and all generations went into the pit

Like all baptised to do so before us  

If we were forced to admit it

Men and boys who we soon knew would forever be our kin

Going into the light or darkness to earn a few bob

Following all our own fathers and grandfathers

When our time too came  

  

When they asked casually over breakfast

Are you, ready son

And we all replied over hot coffee with a silent nod

Remember me

My name was Samus O'Mally

From Gods Country  

In County Donegal

Where we chased the mad black stuff like it was our lives bounty

Those courageous strong Irish men

Who like me when we heard the call

Willingly sacrificed our brief lives

Chasing fools black gold

So all our families could eat and be insulated from all weathers 

But particularly the cold

Until it, 

Black Coals ghost

Finally stalked us down wherever we lived and hid like a wild hyena

Rewarding us with a fatal kiss for year's of servitude and service

With a black medal in the lung called after something so tragic I now know as emphysema

To then stand watching us all silently but bravely 

Fight its deadly embrace as we all grew old

Coughing up blood like we were living in Hiroshima

Forever now just tainted like so many others from brave fathers and mothers

For foolishly chasing the glories and stories linked with mining black gold  

Copyright John Duffy

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The Watcher Speaks

 Are we watched by entities from another realm? 

A great question which inspired this piece. 

Salute. 

Press play and let the music wash over you as you read.
Salute.

Do we live forever many of your kind has asked

Since I have heard you whisper in the dark

Are we, immortal souls

You question

What would we do with all that time if it was bestowed to us

Well here's my answer

In here

Where I now live and love all alone

I create poetry

Like Celine Dion

Singing the night on fire

Dressed like good old Bob Dylan

Facing his faithful hurricane

I sometimes dance

To the king of pop

Michael Jackson

Whilst moonwalking in the occasional falling rain

My lines grace minds

Like Hugh Hefners

Playboy’s pictures

Sending the cerebral cortex

Libidos totally insane

Like Thandie Newton

Finding strength self-worth and power

In Westworld 

Whilst being

Reborn again and again

My words serenade

Marlon Brando's

Emancipation and eventual apocalypse

In Cambodia

As he boarded that fateful flight from

The Seventies in a doomed

Air-plane

Am I a sceptic

Or just a viewer

A majestic soother

A beguiler

A brother

Mother

Son

Or

Daughter

Can you feel me

You ought to

For I'm simply giving you words

Soon to be gracing your eyes

Movie screens or mobile streams

Maybe some new books and novels

For I'm just a beautiful old beast

Steamrolling through with golden keys to all the Wet Brothels of your minds

As you sit

Watch

And sip these sweet-tasting words

Now addicted to my cheap

Bottles of poetic mead and exhilarating red wine

You see

I'm just a non-living fossil

A mesmerising soul

From bygone days

Going into humanities new future

MK Ultraing

Your mind

Forever

As I program you

Like a cheap computer

For I'm a priceless mixture of all of life's sweet-tasting essences

And damaged baggage's

Can you feel me

Am I just behind you

Or watching and walking

Just in front

And standing hiding 

Beyond the doorways to all your dreams

Can you feel me like Old Nick

Everlasting

Stalking like an ageless Marquis

For I'm just a once unvisited world

Of words

Slowly just consuming your time

Can you feel my bony fingers

Stroking those secretive rooms 

As I stimulate your

Mind

Copyright John Duffy