Every creative soul requires
A certain set of friends.
Companions that will guide their pencils,
Paintbrushes and pens.
One needs small voices in their ear
Inspiring every work.
My closest of such friends are Liebe,
Elend and Ehrfurcht.

"Create a masterpiece,"
Says Liebe, sat beside my desk,
"That captures his fair image,
So perfect and picturesque!
Write down the thousand flattering words
Stored up within your heart.
Assign them rhyme and rhythm
As lyrical written art!"

"Spill out your pain and grief," says Elend,
"Onto a blank page.
Make image and analogy
Out of your fear and rage.
Must you release your anguish
As a scream into the sky,
I'll help to make it tasteful --
Pleasing to both ear and eye."

"Share with the world the light you found,"
Chimes Ehrfurcht, eyes aglow,
"That made you fall in love with living
And renewed your soul!
Discovery, courage, hope,
Glories of Heaven and of Earth!
Proclaim with verse and color
That which gives this life it's worth!"

Some days I seek their counsel,
And they're nowhere to be found.
Others, I'm nagged unceasingly
By these three voices' sound.
More helpful friends I cannot find
To aid me in my work.
My personal muses are Liebe,
Elend and Ehrfurcht.

The mind whispers,walk the path of dharma,like Arjuna, with his bow drawn tight.

The heart replies, let me offer love into it,like Meera, singing to her Krishna through the night.

Situations whirl around me.

Like the churning of the cosmic ocean—Samudra Manthan

Where every choice pulls like devas and asuras

Tugging between what’s right… and what’s desired.

But my soul, ancient and still,speaks in the voice of Vishnu, resting upon Ananta.

Soft, eternal, and unshaken

Do what is necessary

Time moves—like Shiva in his Tandava

Moments rise and fall

Karma spins its golden wheel.

In the center of it all

Like a flickering diya in the wind

Like Draupadi with folded hands

I stood… still.

Not knowing what’s right and what’s desired.

Until something touched me

Not a voice, not a word,but a divine light

Like the jyoti of Arunachala.

The kind of light Yashoda must’ve See when she looked into Krishna’s mouth and saw the universe.

It said:

When your heart and mind stop their war and start walking together,like Lakshmi beside Vishnu grace flows into action.

Miracles don’t just visit…They begin to live in you.

When your soul accepts the leela,when it bends with the time,even suffering becomes prasad.

Even poison, like Neelakantha’s, becomes a sacred strength.

So I bow

Not in surrender,but in sacred acceptance.

I do not run after answers.

I do not ask the winds to calm.

I walk the sacred thread—that unseen sutra,woven by Saraswati’s wisdom and Sita’s silence.

That ties duty to devotion.

Lets love carry its weight.

With no need for reward.

The flame was afraid to leave,
Did not want to be,
In a lamp,
A fire pit,
Alone.

Yet it can still shone,
To carry on,
And be the light,
For those in fright,
To signify those who carry him are not alone,
And with that,
He found his home.

Freedom

One word to say, so easy to sound,
A word so simple, yet so profound.
Is it the right to go anywhere?
Or the wisdom to know where we’re needed?
Is it the right to do anything we wish?
Or the strength to do what must be done?
Want—four letters, a fleeting desire.
Need—four letters, a guiding fire.
Both seem the same, both quick to say,
Yet one fades, while the other stays.
Why does need always prevail?
Why does want so often fail?
Why does necessity hold the throne,while desire stands alone?
Perhaps freedom is not just a choice,
But the courage to listen to life’s voice.
Not just the right to chase our dreams,
But the wisdom to know what truly redeems.
True freedom is not in doing it all,
But in knowing when to rise and when to fall.

A recent share on a post, that is so relevant to poets writing in a world seeped in instant self gratification.


Title.

The Entrepreneur

(A lone voice whispers)


We do what we do, because we are old school

Inspired by the likes of visionaries such as, Michelangelo or, Vincent van Gogh

For in a modern world driven to seek immediate validation, and the trappings of success

We may be becoming a rare breed

For deep down, we know this unconditionally
Unconsciously

We are a work in progress

We who do the hard work constantly, through patience, and resilience

We know we will eventually see the journey has been worth it

As we are blessed

When the world eventually sees or embraces our portfolios

For that immense need driven by relentless consistency, patience, and resilience

Will eventually knock on a certain door to be opened by us

Marked

"For the brave
Who conquered the Lands of Broken Dreams filled with Regrets"

(C) Copyright John Duffy

Happiness starts with me
clearing the debris
for all to see
changing the frequency
on internal healing
finding joy in the small things
through hope in believing
fueled by enthusiasm
sparking opportunities
to turn dreams
into realities
creating new memories
protecting our souls harmony
together, with my family
I am I
and only me

Nobody lives in negative infinity,
Life is not linear,
We live, grow, and learn,
In parabolas.

One U shaped graph,
That goes down,
But comes back up,
Even when you hit the A.O.S.

.
Will I always be this sad?  Maybe
Perhaps. But there is no reason
you cannot live alongside it,
no thing stopping you from
painting over that chasm with joy

chasm: “a deep fissure in the earth, rock, or another surface.”

Yes, maybe it will always be there, even
‘probably’
But your body is made of earth
and no one is stopping you from
tossing a rope to the bottom;
from climbing down
and planting flowers

—this place, too
            we could make beautiful
.