(A lone voice whispers)

With reflection
In this
The midnight hour

I light a white candle
For the one

Who once had me
Under her power

Driven by loves
Powerful desires

For us,
The Almas Perdidas
(Lost Souls)

Maybe like you

The
Left Be-Hinders

Who wallow and wade through griefs tiring waters
With a broken heart

After love says
Farewell

To then become new drinkers
From Depressions deep well

Praying love returns
With a ring of a lone bell

To see true love
Once more and say

Stay

Please
Don't go away
And melt my heart

Stay
So we are now
No longer
Torn apart

But like all pilgrims seeking God
In their own particular way

We know the bell will never ring

We know our hearts will never heal or sing

So we live
In a living version of Purgatory

Dying with each breath of decay

We take

As we watch and wait for our call
To join others

Now living beyond
Purgatory Great Gates

(C)
Copyright John Duffy

(A lone voice whispers)

Do you write
For freedom
From boredom

Or even sympathy

Simply to defeat
Apathy

People who experience traumatic events may sometimes develop apathy syndrome

(indifference and emotional detachment)

As a means to further protect themselves mentally and prevent further distress

This is normally present in survivors of tragedies

And it can be part of post-traumatic stress disorder

Caused by emotions hard press

So are you ready to lay on my couch
And begin to confess

(C)
Copyright John Duffy

(A tired voice whispers)


I think I was put under love's enchanted spell
When I first met that wondrous heart

That to me
Quietly yelled

For I've walked so many hard miles on and in this black sand and yellow sea

Acid rain and pale snow
As far as my tired eyes could see

Wandered to low places
Where the Good
Don't go

Seen dark shadows
Dance the Argentine Tango as fireflies glowed

But still, I stand strong
Even though my clothes and eyes are wet

Wet with those old tears,
I once cried
When you died

Walking and finding
This

The only way
Was hard and long

With just my memories of your love
To carry me
To find you

With its sweet mesmerising song

And for centuries
I searched through these wind blown mists

And now at the threshold of all things
As a lone bell rings

I call out across these ever-changing roads

Are you there
My only goth girl

My torment and heaven at noon
The one bestowed with all the gifts

Who once made my poor soul bloom

If so
Open up the bejeweled doors

And let me into that room
Where you stand

Use your Frankincense
Herbs of blue and pure prayers

To create a sacred space in The Promised Land

To save this lovesick veteran

Of the universes
Endless spiritual wars

This I call in front of all

Will you appear
From the folds

And show me

Once again
Your beautiful face

Before I merge forever
Into this yellow sea

(C)
Copyright John Duffy

(A little old lady whispers all alone in the cold. Looking up at the rain filled sky.)

Dear God
You brought me to life from nothing

To try to do something

To share kindness
Compassion and a light for those in the dark

To follow

Then to return home with stories
When my bell you ring

To hear me stand and sing aloud
In the Holy Circle

About all the things I did when I was once alive
In the living gardens of mankind

So keep giving me strength to keep doing so
As I go

Amen

(C) Copyright John Duffy

(A lone voice whispers)


I have loved my life
Called it a thousand names
As I fought through pain

All its gifts are mine
They all reside deep inside

For I'm illuminated

I feel everything around and within
Even, when I’m defeated
I feel sacred

I bathe in the perpetual glow
Of a glorious sun

But no matter how far I wonder, No matter how far I run

My inner sun
Holds treasures for the soul

The more I give,
The more I feel whole

Although I change
Physically
Every seven years

I'm indomitable

I study the splendour of my life
I celebrate the joys and pains

For my faith
Is formidable

Stranded to rhythms and
outrageous patterns of chaos
I materialize to create my own cosmos

With
Divine symmetry

Between my powers
Of inspiration and sensation
This wild life is simply my own seance

I desire the paths I walk

The side roads
Streets and byroads

Filled with newer experiences and faces
Thrill me

I offer compassionate and benevolence
To all in need

I control the Achilles' heels
Within my world

For its fears
Are irrelevant

I celebrate in the curative power of pleasure
I satisfy my hunger within its revered well

I initiate the deep free dive
To impenetrable depths
To find my blazing strength

Flowing from my crux to create new worlds
As my guardian angels wept

Love and Laughter
Elevate me

I hail from paradise to create my sanctuary
To pay tribute to my true spirit

For its inner beauty is beyond compare

Writing
Poetry
Singing and smiling

For
I'm an original
Simply surviving

(C)
Copyright John Duffy

(A lone voice whispers)


Do you remember your first encounter with libido

That wild exhilarating deep dive into the unknown

The first kiss leading to home base

As ecstasy consumed your whole psyche and face

(C)
Copyright John Duffy

(A lone voice whispers)

Some whispered rules from the Great In-Between

Find an everlasting requiem knee-deep in lust for a real-life

Make unrequited love

The Rebellious Songs of the Transformational

As you throw away its emotional sharp knife

Make a layer cake of evocative delicious delights

To be explored and devoured with your dearly beloved

Hidden from the watching dark shadows all around you

In the middle of any given night

Find ancestral strength in midnight memories and ritualistic ceremonies

Within echoes from those now out of sight

Regain the strength to carry on and fight to finally

Find loves hidden highways and as you take flight

Embrace the sacred thoughts that your Guardian Angels

Always watch over and protect yourself in every way

Especially at night with their unspoken prayers

And you my child
Will be okay in all of your life affairs

(C)
Copyright John Duffy