(A lone voice whispers)
Remembering every single incredible memory
Of my old lover's name
Before the sun rises
Around the clock
I think is driving me slowly insane
As the night sky seems to smile
As it gleefully closes in
Each delicate syllable and dulcet tone
Rings and sends out such a resounding cacophony
And vibrations of such a Trinity linked to Sin
Like a holy golden summoning bell
Been slowly rung
Emanating a frequency filled with
Happiness
Togetherness
And Divinity
Tainted by visions
And imagery
Lost in throes of bedroom depravities
As it spins around in that sacred kaleidoscope
Within my mind
No matter the time
Memories of smiles and kindness
Of laying together
Talking for hours
Lost in a mysterious stillness
About life
Love
The universe and all things in between
While holding hands in the encroaching darkness
Before all the cruel and unkind things in life
Came crashing in
Like Zeus's thunderbolt and put out our beloved flame
Which we foolishly thought would be lit forever
So now I'm on this broken path
That I'm doomed to walk again
To purge my spirit of this madness
Trying to forget her
Since her soul left us
Old Henry and me
The best old hound dog to sit with
Writing poetry
So Ma and Pa
I'm taking Old Henry
And leaving this letter
Driving South
Heading somewhere
I'm pulled blindly to
A lonely secret location
Past the Almshouses of shame
With no name
After my own version of
The Titanomachy
Towards a place deep in the Appalachian mountains
I've seen in prophetic visions
Like a prophecy
A spot inside the darkest of unvisited woods
A place I know
From Dreamland
A place known as
The Land of the Black Crows
In the deepest of Shadows
Where Old Gods of pagan mythology
And weary Elementals
Gather to watch
Unknown actors dressed in sharkskin
Perform a twisted version
Of Dantes's Divine Comedy
Accompanied by a lone violin
That they love the sound of
So much
A path known only to other
Poor kindred souls
When they're unconsciously invited
Drawn
By a strange magnetic pull
To The Land of the Black Crows
In the deepest of Shadows
To watch strange sideshows
To help lull and dissolve their pain
After being spiritually wounded
By one of Eros's many bows
Until nothing remains
Before they too pull on the
Eternal Sharkskin suit
And take center stage as all the other broken
Stand clapping in their seats and welcome
People like
Old Henry and me
Into their secret house of ill repute
A place where when painful emotions suddenly appear
They are shared and passed around
To be consumed like a strange-tasting forbidden fruit
By new friends
Who use its raw magical energies to welcome new followers
Who are brave enough
To take up the call and commute
(C)
Copyright John Duffy
The Titanomachy, in Greek mythology, was the great war that occurred between the Titans, the old generation of Greek gods, and the Olympian gods, led by Zeus.
