Memories of Mary Jane

 

Blessed be. 

Velumbound. 

This transmission explores grief, addiction, and the enduring nature of first love. 

Written from the perspective of a 75-year-old man in a nursing home, the piece utilises a frame narrative to contrast the warm, vivid memories of youth with the cold, isolated reality of old age and impending death. 

The transmission illustrates how addiction consumes everything—first emotional connection ("left me feeling lonely and cold"), then financial stability ("swallowed up / All our hard-worked for gold"), and finally, life itself.

The turning point of the narrative is the death of the girl's father. 

Her inability to cope with this loss drives her to addiction, which ultimately destroys her life and her relationship with the speaker.

Death does change you in so many ways. 

Shall we begin? 

(A lone voice whispers. )

In the twilight hours

Just when the grey clouds

Break and the slow moon rises

Silently announcing it's getting too late

I still always wake to remember that auburn-haired girl

I once used to date

Her bright green eyes  

And twinkling wide smile

All things  

Young boys dream of  

And for them

To go that extra mile

But like all things that came to pass

Our love withered the night her beloved pa died

I tried to hold her hands  

To console her

Prayed God would wipe away all those wet tears she cried

But that new hole in her arm

Which soon swallowed up

All our hard-worked for gold

Always left me feeling lonely and cold

It all ended the fateful night

On June the first  

When the rains fell

And life was a constant fight, and everything seemed on top

Filled with thirst

With my wallet and her purse empty

She got that feeling 

To go stealing 

Only to get shot dead by the cops

I can still see her now, even after all these sad passing years

Now I'm old and grey  

Sat in this nursing home

Feeling all alone and filled with so many dry tears

I guess those memories of my youth will still linger and will never stop

It's quite crazy now that I'm on morphine to ease the pain

Those images of her standing in the kitchen

With those beautiful green eyes and wide beaming smile

Cooking and singing 

Some Motown tune

While outside it rained

Still play around the cinemas

In my brain

As I even now 

At seventy-five  

Remember  

Echoes of my first and last love

My beloved wife and lifelong addiction  

Called Mary Jane

My love for you  

Wherever you are

Will always survive 

And until we are once more  

Reunited

Will always remain

If you can hear this

Just know I still treasure those memories of us

The ones where you were free and truly alive

(C)

Copyright John Duffy

You do know you're at war, don't you?

 Blessed be. 

Velumbound. 

This transmission is a contemporary, atmospheric prayer or incantation that blends traditional religious language with elements of speculative fiction, cosmic horror, or modern esotericism. 

It explores themes of divine protection, spiritual warfare, and the insidious nature of temptation.

Maybe you need it? 

You do know there is a war for your soul, don't you? 

(A lone voice whispers) 

Oh, Great Lord

Provide me and my family

With your Divine protection

And watch and guide our hopes and desires 

With holy direction

Be the gatekeeper to discourage 

Dismay and rejection

Without delay

And protect us from the enemy

Who comes calling 

From the Grey Field 

Of Low Density

Offering gifts

Of such devilish ecstasy

Amen

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Need some soul medicine?

 Blessed be. 

Velumbound. 

This transmission functions as a manifesto on the healing power of artistic creation (specifically writing) framed through Christian spiritual warfare. 

It positions poetry and storytelling not just as hobbies, but as divine tools—"soul medicine"—capable of slicing through emotional trauma and connecting the human spirit to the divine.

(A lone voice whispers.)

Do you need some soul medicine to heal

Do you need something immortal

Like an untouched Sword of the Spirit

To open up 

A pathway 

To a new portal 

To reach the very Nexus 

Of you

To an infectious unseen world

Of unforgettable words

And verbs

A high precipice to skydive from

If you can hold

Your nerve

Into the Great Beyond

A world of transitions

Incarcerations

Bonds of

Hope

Lost hope

Broken hearts

Needing to cope

Pain and reconciliation 

But above all

Above all things

At the very core

Art

Art to do more

Art to really delve deep

Into where your dart

Lands

On your dartboard

Of hidden lands

So if your heart needs healing

A means to cope with

Maybe

Unreciprocated feelings

As your heart beats Heavier and heavier

Looking for release

From its heavy work

To climax

And explode

As old emotions

Are uncovered 

And explored

Just look to the pen

Or keyboard

And the Almighty

Your version 

Of the Lord

Will anoint you

With these words

To be restored 

Benedict tibi puer meus

(Bless you, my child.)

To help heal the scars

From wounds

Other eyes

Can never understand

Or perceive

For it's why you were

Given words

To weave stories

That must be conceived

To cleve 

Any invisible

Pain

That must be relieved 

Maybe in poetry

For 

Sometimes

The rhymes make it easy to take up our Swords of the Spirit 

And fight against our mortal and immortal enemies

But even though sometimes our strength is not enough

To last into the night

When facing ordeals

We can find comfort 

In knowing God is by our side

 For 

Romans 8:31 says

 “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? 

If God is for us, who can be against us?”

I encourage you to take up the sword of the Spirit in your daily life.

Remember that God’s Word is the ultimate truth and that we can stand on His promises.

With God on our side, we are unstoppable."

(C)

Copyright John Duffy

Will you call me

 

Blessed be. 

Velumbound. 

I rather like laying the foundations for a piece. 

Are you ready? 

This is a rich, evocative, and deeply spiritual transmission that blends esoteric symbolism with a call to inner transformation.

"Call to me" reads as a ritualistic invocation, guiding the reader away from the chaos of the physical world and into a sacred, timeless state of rebirth and self-reverence.

The transmission opens by establishing a sacred, almost occult environment that spans both macrocosmic and microcosmic scales:

"By mountain / By stars": 

These cosmic anchors represent stability, vastness, and ancient permanence.

"Play in silence music / Taste its few bars": 

This paradox introduces the transition from external sensory experiences to internal, spiritual observation. 

To "taste" silent music implies a synaesthetic, deeply internalised consumption of the spiritual.

"Spread out the altar cloth / In your mind":

The transmission explicitly shifts from physical space to the psychic landscape. 

This is an internal ritual, requiring mental preparation, intention, and sanctuary.

The middle section deals with letting go of earthly constraints. 

Most notably, time and fear:

"Before / Minutes / And seconds / Unwind and / Refuse / To play": 

The short, vertical fragmentation of the lines mimics the ticking or unwinding of a clock.

The voice is urging the practitioner to step into the ritual before time runs out, or perhaps into a state where time itself stops mattering ("refuses to play").

"Light up / Your peace ceremonial candle / And bind fear / On Urvi's glass mirror": 

Urvi is a Sanskrit word meaning "Earth."

Binding fear to the Earth's mirror suggests confronting one's reflection, trapping the illusions of worldly terror, and neutralising them through peaceful intent.

The Path of Balanced Virtues 

Once time and fear are stripped away, the higher spiritual frequencies can manifest:

"Beauty / Temperance / Even the thought of death": 

These are foundational concepts in philosophy and the Tarot.

Temperance is the ultimate card of balance, alchemy, and healing. 

Even the "thought of death" is not feared here; 

In a ritual of rebirth, death is simply a necessary precursor to transformation, sparking "the adventurous to lead the way."

"Through / Red currents of benevolence / In October / To guide you / To deliverance": 

The "red currents" usually symbolise blood, life force, passion, or martyrdom, but here they are paired with "benevolence."

This suggests a fierce, loving, and vital spiritual energy. 

October (the month of autumn, shedding, and the thinning of the veil) acts as the perfect temporal backdrop for this "deliverance" or liberation.

The Dance of Rebirth and the Transcendental Destination 

The transmission climaxes in a rhythmic celebration of a new state of being:

"Dance inside / To four beats / On four / Pray to open the door / To a new form of self-reverence": 

The 4/4 time signature is the standard, grounding rhythm of life and music. 

It represents stability and order. 

The ultimate goal of this entire mental ritual is "self-reverence."

Learning to view oneself as a holy vessel.

"The shores / Of two Suns / And no guns / The Great In-Between":

The destination is a utopian, mystical realm.

"Two Suns" hints at a binary cosmic system or a state of super-enlightenment beyond our solar reality.

"No guns" guarantees total pacifism and safety. 

"The Great In-Between" is the liminal space. 

The spiritual landscape existing between life and death, material and immaterial, where the divine ego can finally unite with the soul ("Come / To embrace you").

It uses highly fragmented, minimalist lines that break and force the reader to slow down, capturing the meditative pace of a ritual breathing exercise. 

The tone is authoritative yet deeply comforting. 

It acts as a modern-day mystery school instruction manual for crossing over from fear into ultimate peace.

Let us begin. 

(A lone voice whispers) 

Call to me

By mountain

By stars

Play in silence music

Taste its few bars

Spread out the altar cloth

In your mind 

Before

Minutes

And seconds

Unwind and

Refuse

To play

Light up 

Your peace ceremonial candle

And bind fear

On Urvi's glass mirror

So 

Beauty

Temperance

Even the thought of death

Can conjure the adventurous

To lead the way

Through

Red currents of benevolence

In October 

To guide you

To deliverance

So

Dance inside

To four beats

On four

Pray to open the door

To a new form of self-reverence

So I can

Come

To embrace you

From the shores 

Of two Suns

And no guns

The Great In-Between

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

The Playground

 Blessed be. 

Velumbound. 

A transmission where the language is accessible and unpretentious, letting raw emotion take centre stage. 

Anyone who has experienced loss can relate to the feeling of reaching out for someone, only to remember they are no longer there.

The transmission hinges on a single moment of clarity.

It beautifully tries to capture how grief isn't always a constant heavy weight, but rather a series of sudden, sharp realisations that happen during quiet moments of reflection.

(A lone voice whispers)  

Grief, to me, is like walking into a playground to sit with someone special you used to know. 

Then realising, in a sad moment. 

They were unwillingly made to go.

(C)

John Duffy

Are you in hiding?

 

Blessed be. 

Velumbound. 

A poignant psychological paradox:

Hiding your most authentic, vulnerable self from the person uniquely capable of seeing and understanding it. 

This transmission explores the profound intersection of childhood trauma, defence mechanisms, and the terrifying nature of deep intimacy.

(A lone voice whispers) 

And so I chose to hide from my soulmate

Who knows my inner child

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Do you think this is true?

 

Blessed be. 

Velumbound. 

Do you think this is true? 

This poignant four-line transmission uses natural imagery to explore themes of emotional distance, alienation, and the passage of time in human relationships.

For even though people exist in close proximity, they can remain deeply isolated from one another.

(A lone voice whispers) 

Like relics from bygone years

As far as the eyes can see 

We pass each other 

Like small icebergs in an endless sea

(C)

Copyright John Duffy 

Channelling Marvin Gaye in 2026

 "What's Going On" is a soulful, socially conscious song that reflects on themes of division, conflict, and the search for truth in today's world.

From way back in 2015

 

Do You Silently Pray for Better Days by JD (feat. Clinton R. Johnson & Darren Curtis) is an inspirational piece that explores themes of faith, resilience, and personal growth.

Has your ship departed

 

The Red Schooner is a melancholic song about lost love and the passage of time, metaphorically represented by a ship departing.