For Mary

 

An old draft of a concept I was developing

A supernatural piece. 

If the dearly departed could speak, what would they say and to whom? 

Imagine it’s his only chance to speak before he finally ascends.

This Freddy Mercury story, if you really look at his life, is about his true love for Mary. 

A lady he wrote and sung many songs about, and left nearly all his worldly possessions to.

Love transcends time and space.

The monologue begins. 

A lone spotlight in a black room. 

Switches on and a lone figure appears.

Speaking. 

 ------------

Let me into your heart again

For I need your loving tonight

And then lay me down to dream

You once said

So I still look deep into your dark eyes

And whisper

Now I am living in here

Just hidden out of sight

You look so tired and weary now

Mary

Do you need some sweet lullabies

To lift your tender soul until

Daylight

Shall I share my deep love with you

Like there’s no tomorrow and then

Lay you down to dream

For I’m

Still crazy about that little thing

You once called a gift from

Above

Have your days have been so long

For I can read your tired

Body language

Do you need to rest your weary head

Upon my chest

For we all need somebody to love

I once sang and

Do you still miss my heartbeat

As it still

Sings our eternal soul's song

Can you feel it

Does it still turn you on

Now I'm here

Talking and

No longer

Stone cold crazy

My white Lily of the lower valleys

If you’re watching

Keep yourself alive

For this is my prophet's song

For the one and only true love of my life

I know my love was once so dangerous and

All your dreams may seem to have

Just flown away

And now you

Cannot recall them all

I may not know where to find them

Or how to call them back and make them

Stay

So let us just cling together

You and this good old-fashioned

Parsis lover boy

To help you spread your wings

Once more

For it's never too late

To enable you to walk

New roads to

Be free

I can still hear you pray and

Whisper

Save me from in here

Mary

As another unanswered prayer

Bites the dust

It’s why I try to return

To help you

Smile at the sun and sit peacefully

To watch all the

Starlings flyby and play at dusk

I know it's a hard life

In that old world

We once created

And even though the hammer had to fall

I still yearn to break free and it’s why I'm here

It’s why I still call

For within these gentle soft hands

Swirling inside their tender touch

Is every single dream I've ever had

And to share them with you

Is a wish

I now clutch

And all I love so much

For you to lay close

In these arms once again

And think of all the things

I once said

Then when you're calm

I'll lay my hands

Upon your weary head

And transfer every living dream

Still in me

Into you

To send you to sleep

To where I can watch you

Like a young child

Dancing

In familiar old Kensington streets

In that land of sweet dreams

Where we'll once more really

Meet

To share untainted visions

A new kind of pure magic

An everlasting year of love

Where we still live

For even though I’ve died

This pain I still feel

This soft yearning

Is so close to celestial pleasure

For true friends

Will always be friends

To the very end

And it's those sweet memories

I still hold onto

And so dearly treasure

If you don't know the way, my love

When your time is too called

By the Great Golden Horn

And you can't find it on your own

Just look to the midnight

Sky

And I'll appear

To help guide you home

For you were never meant

To wander and ride the wild winds

Through these strange

Landscapes

Alone

I know you

Have travelled many hard

Miles

But I can't live without you

Filled still with so many soft tears

And memories of so many

Sad nurses' fears

On this recent

Notoriously

Dangerous route to get here

I now know I was born to just

Love you

For Heaven isn’t just for everyone

And too much love can kill you

Again

Even when you think

It has died

To leave yourself lost

In perilous

Dark places

With no one to lead you out

Of the darkness

No matter how many lifeless tears

You've cried

For there seemed to

Be no familiar faces

But know this

Me and your Guardian Angels

Are here

Take my hand 

Once whispered the

Precious Lord on the

Twenty-fourth of November

When the Great Golden Horn

Blew

If I remember

But I choose to return

To you my love

For I'm an eternal friend

To always hold your shaking hands

And guide you back

Towards the light

Sent by the good Lord

The Almighty through me

For you were always good company

And our friendship and

Souls

Will forever share the same

Road map

Forever lit up

Out of this friendship

It’s a shame

I know now that

Only the good die young

It's why I've now come back

From beyond the grey waters

Of the Final Abyss

Filled with a new mission

As that illness

I once had

Which took many of my beloved friends

Now lies in total remission

I still sometimes see them

Wandering in here

You know

But

I don't ever want to go back

For your mesmerizing light

And captivating aura

I know

I would surely miss

If I were to say goodbye forever

With an invisible parting kiss

But the show must go on

As I sang

Those may have once been

The best days of our lives and

I'm just happy I found somebody to

Really love me

When I was once alive

Your forever

Lover in the dark

Who in you

My beloved Mary

I still hope

My memories

Will always reside

Yours forever friend

Into eternity

Farrokh Bulsara

As I wait

Standing in here with Che Guevara

Who is my eternal symbol of hope

I'll always send you all my love

For whenever you need it

To truly cope

---------------

A bell rings three times and the spotlight goes out. Leaving the room in darkness. 

 

(C)

Copyright John Duffy

Image shared under fair usage policy. 

Chanelling Natalie Wood

Quite a controversial topic, and subject to many unanswered questions.  

This Natalie Wood story is based on her reflection on her life. 

Her tragic love life. 

The painful trauma left upon her soul, and ultimately her death.

She survives on with the thought justice will prevail, and karma will be fully paid.

A working monologue for a supernatural project on hold, (due to Covid) connected to the Great In-Between.

Hopefully, I can restart it. The auditions were quite emotional to watch.

Logline: 

Do ghosts speak in poetry? 

Did I channel Natalie Wood at 3 am as I wrote this monologue? 

Title: 

Chanelling Natalie Wood

 

Well here I am again

 

Back from November

Eighty–one

 

Is it raining outside

It quite feels like it is

 

Over the years

I’ve watched and waited

 

But lately, I feel so weak

And I just can’t keep quiet and sedated

 

Maybe it’s time to speak

Using this unique channelling technique

When I first started acting at such a young age

I didn't know who the hell I was

 

When I was younger

I tried to be whoever

 

They wanted me to be

 

My mother

Maria

 

Bless her soul

Used to tell me

 

No matter what they ask you

Wherever you end up or

Go

 

Always say yes

You can learn later

 

I wish I had just sometimes

Stood up for myself and

Said no

 

I've always been terrified of deep water

And yet it seems

 

I was forced to go into the water

In every movie

That I ever appeared

In

 

From 1943

 

It’s rather cruel and tragic

That I was to die

According to the police

By drowning at sea

 

I was so once overprotected

 

By my agents

Mother and who I thought

We're close friends

 

I used to think I was as so delicate as people said

And it’s still rather strange how I still feel

 

For there are times

In here

 

When I look above

At that big screen

Which always rolls

 

I see me as a young stranger

 

Lost like a Christmas miracle

Walking on 34th Street

 

And there are sad times

When I look below at that other big screen

 

For there are two you know

 

Here in this dark cinema

In the Great In-Between

 

One that shows you the light side of your life

And the other

 

The darkness

 

It’s your choice which one you watch

Some say it’s a form of divine catharsis

 

 Which will help you rise above

All that pain

 

Hidden in those iconic

Moments of self-analysis

 

Well whenever I look below

 

I always see the one I thought would love

Me forever

 

I guess

Almost every girl falls in love with the wrong man

I suppose it’s part of growing up

And yes

 

I can still feel you

You know your name

 

Like a young Jim Stark

 

Always rebelling without a cause

In everything I still do

 

Those small moments

Running wild within these visits

 

Into my life’s many old business

 

Moments where I was lost and

Trying to find a West Side story

 

To live in forever with someone

Like Tony

 

Hiding somewhere

From all the splendours

In all those tall green grasses

 

On the big Hollywood Hills

 

I still see painful flashbacks

 

To where powerful strangers

In VIP hotel rooms

 

Sometimes

Seek sex with single girls

 

Seeking fame

And them

They willingly consume

 

Where you could fall deeply in love

With someone

 

And be totally lost in

Those tranquil bouts of emotional insurrections

 

At first a silent revolution and

Then a forced rebellion when they leave

 

But above

 

On the surface

Which we show the world

 

From here to eternity

 

I've learned

We hide ourselves to the watchers

 

Lying to ourselves while

Parading such a false love

 

I loved you once

Robert

 

But below that surface

Where the darkness multiplies

And grows

 

Like those painful moments

I endured in Chateau Marmont

 

Where feelings of doubts

Deep inner fears and invisible tears

 

Always return for they cannot ever be washed

But always haunt

 

I always prayed they

Wouldn’t stay

 

But they always go on and on

 

All questions heralding from the

Moment I met the smiling

Snarling

 

Paris Pitman Jr.

The Spartacus people loved

 

The popular

Mister Who Knows

Dressed in his white coat

And with his foolish

 

Devilish stare

 

The king of all those action

Picture shows

 

I can still see him smiling everywhere

 

I may seem calm and collected

But beneath the surface

 

I once feared to be rejected

By RJ and the watching world

 

But for now

 I still smile and play

 

With Elvis

Empowered with the hope

 

That those painful memories will fade

And these mysterious four winds will

Blow all old those fears away

 

It's how I now cope

 

I no longer visit my deep depths

Where I was once drowned

 

By shall I just say

Two accomplices

 

Off the coast of Santa Catalina

 

In those dark blue waters

A place where light

Lies in the distance

 

For now though

I’ll stay kneeling in front of these

Four candles

 

Steadfast in the hope

Justice will prevail

 

To bring truth and an end to this

Scandal

 

Have you two been afraid

As you age

 

Of changing your statements

And all its misleading intent

 

To extinguish your dark secrets

For it binds you to feelings of

Guilt

 

Which I know must feel so tragic

 

Have you two built your lives around

Just serving you

 

Listened

Hypnotized to believe your lies

 

 

Now the public no longer

Cries

 

Have some of your memories

Been happy

And some may have been magic

 

But in a moment of heart-to-heart

Do time and guilt

 

Make your hearts grow colder

Even as all my own children get older

 

The Great In-Between

Is waiting to judge you

Both

 

But you have a good life

While we all still wait

 

Seek love

Something denied to me

Like an untamed gipsy

 

Embrace its golden rays

As we now judge

 

Major Garrett

 

Now he’s entered a town without pity

Somewhere in here

 

High up in the Holy City

 

Remember

 

Tomorrow Is Forever

And these old movies never stop

They just go on

 

Catching all the Jekyll and Mr Hydes

On the bottom screen

 

As we

All the victims of some sort of mortal crime

Or violence

 

Standstill

Hidden but always watching

Waiting patiently in silence

 

Alongside our faithful spirit guides

Amongst the long shadows

 

Waiting to hand out justice

To the corrupted

 

When their time comes

And their lives are too

 

Interrupted

 

Confess now

 

Before you two

Stand before us

 

It’s your only way to find a path

To your own salvation

 

Before your eventual sentence

If you don’t show repentance

 

Remember we wait

 

I never knew motherhood could be so truly gratifying until I had children

 

Moments I still miss

 

Because I was sent alone

To a place where their soft cheeks

 

I could no longer touch or kiss

 

I miss you so much, Lana

And my daughters

Natasha and Courtney

Just remember and always think of me

 

(C)

Copyright John Duffy

Image shared under fair usage policy.

Like Podcasts?

A Christmas Day podcast.

A new series I'm developing over the festive period. 

Written by me and narrated by, Clinton R. Johnson, who has such a superb voice. 

Have a listen after all that #Christmas dinner. 

#Spotify

Click Here for the Spotify Link. Salute.

Katharine Hepburn’s childhood, in her own words.

“Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus.

Finally, there was only one other family between us and the ticket counter. 

This family made a big impression on me.

There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. 

The way they were dressed, you could tell they didn't have a lot of money, but their clothes were neat and clean.

The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands.

 They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns, animals, and all the acts they would be seeing that night.

 By their excitement, you could sense they had never been to the circus before. 

It would be a highlight of their lives.

The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as could be. 

The mother was holding her husband's hand, looking up at him as if to say, "You're my knight in shining armour." 

He was smiling and enjoying seeing his family happy.

The ticket lady asked the man how many tickets he wanted. 

He proudly responded, "I'd like to buy eight children's tickets and two adult tickets, so I can take my family to the circus." 

The ticket lady stated the price.

The man's wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, the man's lip began to quiver. 

Then he leaned a little closer and asked, "How much did you say?" 

The ticket lady again stated the price.

The man didn't have enough money. 

How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he didn't have enough money to take them to the circus?

Seeing what was going on, my dad reached into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill, and then dropped it on the ground. 

(We were not wealthy in any sense of the word!)

 My father bent down, picked up the $20 bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said,

 "Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket."

The man understood what was going on. 

He wasn't begging for a handout but certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking and embarrassing situation.

He looked straight into my dad's eyes, took my dad's hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with his lip quivering and a tear streaming down his cheek, he replied;  

"Thank you, thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family."

My father and I went back to our car and drove home. 

The $20 that my dad gave away is what we were going to buy our own tickets with.

Although we didn't get to see the circus that night, we both felt a joy inside us that was far greater than seeing the circus could ever provide.

That day I learnt the value to Give.

The Giver is bigger than the Receiver.

 If you want to be large, larger than life, learn to Give. 

Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get - only with what you are expecting to give - which is everything.

The importance of giving, blessing others can never be over emphasised because there's always joy in giving. 

Learn to make someone happy by acts of giving.”

~ Katharine Hepburn, 

 

Need A Covid Prayer in 2023?

Oh Lord

Remind me to

Smile

Because by

Your divine grace

In the face of

Covid and

All it embraces

I'm still alive

A privilege denied

To many 

Who have

Suddenly died

Remind me

I've so much more to give 

As I still live

And with your bright 

White stars 

Lighting my way

At night

To show me the beauty

Of doing my spiritual duty

To light a candle of hope 

In someone

As they repent

To ascend

As they cope

To wipe their tears away 

Today

And to make your love grow stronger

Longer

Everyday

To undo old wrongs

It's why I kneel to pray

And whisper

You'll come

Visit and stay

Amen

(C)

Copyright John Duffy

 

Image shared under fair usage policy. 

Here's to you..

 

Like paper boats

Colliding in the Eternal Ocean

We sometimes

Come together

In the commotion  

And whisper

Have a Merry Christmas

As we share the First Law of the Chosen

By expressing our devotion

To other

Travellers

In the

Eternal Ocean

To help them 

Not to feel unwanted

Or frozen

Merry Christmas 

(C)

Copyright John Duffy

Calliope

 I

Calliope say

Use my two 

Sacred keys

One 

Silver for remorse

One 

Gold for reconciliation

To enter a new kingdom

Riding a wild

Tennessee walking horse

To be cleansed by 

My powers

And forces

Of redemption and salvation

To be divorced 

From Sin

As you walk through 

Your life

And all you meet

On its concourses

To be made righteous 

To try to ascend to Heaven 

As you conquer

The virus

Of pious apologies

And actions

Of those creating

Crisis 

To blind and try to 

Guide you

With poisoned words

Filled with typhus 

To take more

And more boosters

Of sweet lies

And vaccines

Until your lifeless

Before you rise

Up from the dead 

Like us

So I your eternal muse say

Let the poetry in you

Rise up

To fight 

The corrupt

For your freedom

Before you stand

Outside

Waiting for his highness

Saint Peter

To open his silvery

Gates

To a new kingdom

For the worthy and 

Righteous

So use and abuse my powers 

Until you can join

Us

To encourage others 

Just lost 

In the swirling 

Universe's Dust

(C)

Copyright John Duffy, 

2024 is going to be a big year!

Ode to Anastasia

 

You were born 

In late November

This I'll know forevermore

As I look back and remember

For we shall be together

In Nevermore

Even when Death visits

And offers you a drink of his sacrilegious dark wine

 

To end all your days

And time

We shall be together 

Twinned

Pilgrims 

In the silent memory of God

Lost somewhere

But together in the same spaces 

In-Between

And as the soft capricious winds of heavens

Change and dance like a wild Anna Pavlova

Between us

Creating a moving sea of love between our souls

We shall know

In that instance

Holding hands

In the universe's

Dust

That we can sing and dance together 

Forever 

And be joyous in each and every form

For ours is a love story

Beyond the norm

A love story

Composed in multiforms

and kept safely 

Beyond the Great Pillars 

In a sacred tabernacle

On a mahogany shelf

By the Holy Oak Tree 

By the Eternal Sea

This I know

Because 

Before I was born

You were written  

Into my history

By my spirit guides

And God

Just for me

(C)

Copyright John Duffy

Covid Dreams

I might make this into a new track.