Nurses in Hearses

 

Blessed be. 

Velumbound. 

This is a powerful and raw transmission that tries to capture the profound grief, anger, and despair of watching a loved one endure a painful end-of-life struggle under palliative care. 

It moves from intimate, tender memories of a shared life to a bitter, haunting resentment of the clinical environment and the medical staff.

Ultimately, the speaker is left in overwhelming sorrow, experiencing their own emotional and physical exhaustion as they mourn beside the coffin.

Shall we begin? 

(A lone voice whispers) 

I have lived and loved

Lived and rose every morning 

With you

But after listening

To the sweet, soft sounds, only I was privileged to hear

The slow rise and fall of your chest

As you fought for air and each breath

Those midnight visitors

Dressed in blue

Brought

The nurses who I now know all drive metaphorical hearses

Who administered your syringe driver

Who I now nickname

No survivor

Oh, how you fought

Fought like a true Spartan until the end

This card I leave in your coffin, as I too now have a slow rise and fall of each breath

As I kneel each day and pray for death

(C) 

Copyright John Duffy

The Wraith

 

Blessed be.

Velumbound.

This is a beautifully evocative and atmospheric transmission. 

The contrast between the typically frightening concept of being "haunted" and the deeply comforting, protective message left by the entity creates a wonderful sense of safe mystery.

Core Themes & Imagery

The Guarding Entity:

 While the word "ghost" or "wraith" usually brings up scary images, this spirit acts as a protective companion or a guardian angel.

The Ebb and Flow: 

The line "in the ebb and flow / Everywhere I go" highlights a constant, rhythmic presence. 

The entity moves in tandem with the natural tides of the speaker's life.

Visual Elements: 

The transmission relies on soft, atmospheric visual cues. 

The "shadow" and "silver eyes aglow" suggest something ethereal and beautiful rather than terrifying.

The Bathroom Mirror:

The choice of "misty mirrors / After I bathe" is a clever subversion of a classic horror trope.

 Instead of writing a scary warning, the friendly wraith uses the condensation to deliver a message of deep reassurance and peace:

 "Guarding your soul / So you walk unscathed."

Similar in style to;

One Need Not Be a Chamber to Be Haunted: 

Where Emily Dickinson explores how the "ghosts" we carry are often internal. 

She argues that our own minds and spirits can have internal, unseen corridors that hold deeper, more profound mysteries than any physical house could.

Salute. 

(A lone voice whispers)

I'm haunted by a ghost

You know

It follows me in the ebb and flow

Everywhere I go

I sometimes see its shadow

Or its silver eyes aglow

But it never fully reveals itself

Instead leaves me cryptic clues

Messages on misty mirrors 

After I bathe

Which are all the same

They just say

"I'm your friendly wraith

Guarding your soul

So you can walk unscathed"

(C) 

Copyright John Duffy 

1987

 

Blessed be. 

Velumbound. 

(A lone voice whispers) 

Can you remember that first night

You came my way

The small talk

Frightened by something to say

Then, as the movie started, and we shared popcorn

And held hands

How the world suddenly seemed brighter 

As The Lost Boys

Played

(C) 

Copyright John Duffy

Bordello Thoughts

 

Blessed be.

Velumbound.

(A lone voice whispers)

Within these low whispers, lost in the revolving brothels of my mind 

Revolving in its deep depths

As I sit here 

Alone at my old desk

With my black Remington

I can feel the subtle arrival of you, and the vibrational presence of other viewers

Maybe on their beloved cellmate, their phone or computer 

So here's to you all

You the bohemians 

Eccentrics 

Originals and mavericks

Of mankind 

Curious enough to visit

The kingdom builders of visual new worlds that shine through 

Like Morpheus's Looking Glass

Using the power and brilliance of inspired words and fluted thoughts

I pray you continue to seek more 

Like I do

Searching for the one I still adore 

Calliope

Who walks on rivers of crimson fire and grey ash

In memory gardens to be reunited, after she stepped through another stage door 

You 

The Ones blessed with the brilliance of words and fluted thoughts 

Only you I can praise

You, the searchers and creators

Poetic

Time abusers

Just constantly try to be free and never caught

Or caught like me, by always chasing poetry's new dammed train of thought 

(C)

Copyright John Duffy

Do you put special cards on your tree?

 

Though it may be dark

Wherever you are

Though you may never walk again 

In our backyard

You'll always be remembered with this

Hung on our old tree

Your beautiful name 

In my yearly Christmas card

(C) 

Copyright John Duffy

Have these Dark Angels visited you, too?

 

(A lone voice whispers)

We once played the greatest of games

Lit by love and its red flame

Claimed by her lawyers

Angels

Who came walking in with no shame

We framed our wedding pictures in silver frames

Smiled

Held hands

And felt no pain

But then Death came

And called your sweet name

You surrendered alive

Last November at 5.55

When your flame blew out

And now

I still play the greatest of games

Lit by love and its red flame

But now claimed by her new lawyers

Dark angels

Who came walking in 

Summoned by my pain

(C) 

Copyright John Duffy

The dark art, in my opinion, captures grief's dark angels. Salute. 

Do you miss someone special?

 

I can still see you

Feel your glorious aura

As I walk through life and all its flora

(C) 

Copyright John Duffy

Memories

 

Blessed be.

Velumbound.

This poignant poem captures the heavy ache of separation and nostalgia during the lonely pre-dawn hours of 4:00 AM.

 It uses a cyclical, song-like structure—framing the piece with the image of the night ruling "like an old Persian king"—to contrast past glory with the stark, broken reality of the present separation.

Shall we begin? 

It's 4 am here

The night rules the sky like an old Persian king

As I think of you and through these words sing

We once ruled the world like newly crowned kings and queens

But today 

Of all days

We lay apart

Harpooned by hidden forces riding four horses

So here I am at 4 am

As the night rules the sky like an old Persian king

Thinking of you and through these words sing

(C) 

Copyright John Duffy

Humanity

 

Are you in a hypnotic, Mephistophelian trap?

 

"For all the what-ifs and what for's" explores nostalgia, the cost of lived experience, and the haunting, seductive pull of the past. 

This speaker contrasts their new life with memories that demand emotional attention, ultimately framing lingering regrets and old patterns as a hypnotic, Mephistophelian trap.

Shall we begin? 

Velumbound. 

(A lone voice whispers)

For all the what-ifs and what for's

And all those crazy games 

We once lovingly played

Including

Those forgotten ones 

Maybe clumsily waylaid

And now carefully 

Put away

They were always worth the price 

Especially

Those now 

With bowed heads 

Standing shining 

Proudly on parade

Waiting for my attention 

To be fully vetted and paid 

As jealous slow-moving shadows 

In the background 

Of a new life

Smile 

Laugh 

And wave 

Dancing a Mephistophelian jig 

While

Listening to songs and sounds 

Sung and made 

By the Devil's 

Own seductive band 

The hypnotic 

Black Brigade 

(C)

Copyright John Duffy