(A lone voice whispers)

In ancient Babylon,

I once stood alone and mixed fire
Iron and clay

All day

Creating a spell
To entice my only light to come my way

Sent merchandise of gold and silver

To her,
The Pythoness of Endor
Hidden in dark woods

Over the deepest of rivers

Bundles of finest fresh linens and purple silk

To satisfy her and her ilk

Citron wood and every kind of object
I could ever find

Made of white ivory and black marble

Whenever I could
No matter the expense

Incense sticks
And scented Egyptian
Candlesticks

Made of expensive Frankincense

Delicious crates of red wine

Bamboo baskets filled with white flour and yellow wheat

Fields of fat cattle and herds of baying sheep

Priceless trained horses and golden inlaid chariots

New slaves of broken souls

Lascivious ladies and ravenous men
To do her bidding

Even acts of depravity
Linked to the forbidden

For the fruit of my soul
And to be joined to her again

A bright light
I once saw

On a seemingly endless night

But in the year 323
When my leader
Alexander the Great

At only 32
Died and was eternally set free

In the opulent palace of Nebuchadnezzar

She

The Lady of the Wild Woods
The Pythoness of Endor

Cursed me to chase her
Forever

The Queen
I once conjured by fire
Iron and clay

So today
In the 21st century
Her I still chase

Since eternal life
Is now my only penitentiary

My only great living version
Of Babylon of Old

When I desired to sire
A queen, I once met

Dancing
The Raqs Sharqi

So fiercely
That her raw beauty
I can never forget

Adorned in soft crimson and glittering purple linen

Clad in silver

Wearing gold and shining diamond stone earrings

Reborn into the likes of
Badiaa Masabni

It's why I still chase her
If I could confess

For underneath

Beneath all things linked to trying to achieve immortal strength

It's why now
To seek her out
Once more

I always choose to break free

From the external grip
Of The Valley of Death

(C)
Copyright John Duffy

Foundation

Are we being watched by unseen supernatural beings?

Some say any reflective surfaces, like mirrors and water, are but conduits.

Viewing stations used throughout history and any nation

Title
Dianna the Moon Queen

(A regal female voice whispers)

Take this,
These softly spoken words

As the sacred keys to open my Tower of Regeneration
And as my high moon sets

Call to me with all your divine power
From any nation

And I'll help you conquer your own abyss
With a full life and a real love

Guided by my light
At your side
To open your heart wide

Replenished by the warmth of my belief,
One of my greatest spiritual gifts


For if you don't look for me
My energy, and moonlight, you will always miss

As you look back at me
One lonely night

And reminisce while going through the five stages of grief

Of what could have been
With me

The secret watcher
Hidden
In The Great In-Between

(C)
Copyright John Duffy

Consilium from The Outlier

(A lone voice whispers)

Have you ever encountered painful heartbreak, or are enduring, soul-destroying grief

And sometimes sit alone in the silence

Praying for any form of spiritual relief

If so, here are a few thoughts from a similar person, who's been through it all

No matter what you feel or happens today

A new dawn will still always rise again, tomorrow

A chance to knock down, any hastily built, mental walls

A chance to find a new form of freedom, to flourish

To subdue, all those painful feelings highlighted with sorrow

That no longer, nourishes

Some may say, you've just got to forget the past

Use reconciliation, beyond reason to last

But I say, do it this way

Love those even more so, who've passed away

And never again, believe in those

Who once broke, your unswaying three pillars of trust

By charging in like the doomed, British Light Brigade

With all the sad games, they once played

Leaving you standing alone
On parade,
For all to see

In depressions black dust



(C)
Copyright John Duffy

Counseling comes from the Latin root consilium, meaning “advice.”

Foundation.

Relationships
Can you ever trust a person after being betrayed on any level?

Grief
Does time really heal, and do you want to forget someone special, you once loved?

(A lone voice whispers)

Hey you,

Reading this
From way beyond the reach

Of the Great Abyss

I, Thomas, have a question or two

Would you blindly follow me if I lit a red candle

In this final odyssey home

To be rescued
And finally bare your soul

Together with mine
And all you can handle

Before the Sacred Salt Pillar of Ado

Of ***** and Gomorrah
Near the Dead Sea and atone

Would you follow me and that maybe life-changing suggestion

Willingly into this swirling dark

And grasp my coattails within this invocation and rhyme

As we trespass tentatively through all of this life's scary parks

Just you and me

To somewhere only the courageous can ever conceive

As we strip off all the world's detritus

That tries to smother us with all their rock slides

And swim against all societies fast-flowing dividing tides

Will you dare tango and tiptoe past the ever watchful Tall Man and all his worldly Minions

As we circumnavigate the spiritual globe

To truly see the new world grid and reclaim our own freedom

To sit beside our newly created Holy River
To write poetry and sing

To joyously watch through that river's undulating scrying mirror

As the real world slowly disappears

To then walk through a portal which I know will appear

Through all the luscious green grass to finally reach the portcullis gates to the

Eternal City
Of Tartaria

To hear the greatest stories ever told to human ears
In any era

To finally embrace a new realm free from all restrictions

Laws or fears

For although we are but lost souls going eventually to try to conquer She'ol

Would you still just blindly follow me

For you also
Seek Escapism

For you too are a true reader

Past the awakening powers of an immoral old fallen god

A new age world leader
And all its political forces

To walk unashamed together
Hand in hand

To somewhere to renew
Hidden from view

Beyond this world,
Many new pale white horses

(C)
Copyright John Duffy

Image shared under fair usage policy

(A lone figure, kneels and prays. Watched by his faithful cat, Rudolph)

I was born a sinner
Lord

For all us triers are

Blindly sent to live by You
An unknown higher power

To try to defeat the Devil's temptations and sin

But now at 75 and slowly dying
It's no use crying

Wishing I had done better
I've sinned all my life to live

Sinned
Staying out late looking for another with whom to live

Drank anything to get my soul wetter with all I could give

Gambled

Loved and lied
Been cheated on and cried
As inside I died

Cleaning up everything that was on my plate

So Lord it's now too late, and I know Saint Peter won't open your gates

But you know what

I still feel pride
About how I lived

So going to your purgatory with these feelings and sins

I'm sure I'll find other lost souls like me to continue the party
Because they'll be able to relate

For now, to change
As my end approaches

I still haven't got what it takes to be loyal
Since my Martha left me

After
For the millionth time,
I stayed out

Drinking and playing cards with the Gecko brothers

Watching strippers at the ***** Twister
Too late

Please forgive me Lord
Amen

(C)
Copyright John Duffy

Foundation.

At the end, what would your last prayer be?

Did you live a good life or like the man above, give in to the Devils seductive powers?

(A lone voice whispers)


No happiness for me and my best friend
Tony the pony today

For we lost our beloved muse
At 2 pm

One minute she was in full view
Perched on our old Oak tree

Watching us with beady black eyes like a true devotee

Then just like the uptake in poetry

In the 21st Century
By the younger generation

We were old news

She must have flew away to better things, we both thought

As we walked home
Past the village post office

Thinking of our old muse
With the crow like black hair

Lost to us forever

After getting us addicted to reading writing and listening to poetry

Underneath that old Oak tree
Now flying alone

Somewhere
Out there

Looking down below
For a new home

Like it once had
With Tony the pony

And me

(C)
Copyright John Duffy

Foundation.

Is poetry like a bird flying around looking for somewhere new to land, after introducing others to its mysterious pleasures?

But as the newer generations get addicted to gaming platforms, and social media.

Will it eventually find landing, harder and more and more rarer?

(A rebuilt person whispers)

Before I knew Love

I was once so pure
With a heart so free

Carefree for all to see
Everyone loved and smiled at me

But one day Love came calling

And offered me the chance to take a risk

Offered me her spiritual red gallows with rope and chair

Smiled and said
Climb up there

Put on the rope and stand on chair

But beware
With just one soft push

From something unknown in the shadows

You could lose all your mind
And all you own

Standing on my metaphorical chair

Beneath my spiritual red gallows

Like many before you
What do you want to do?

Risk all for my love
And climb up

To experience a feeling where emotions don't stop

Or stay down there,
Stuck in your rut

Well, that was so long ago
And I still see Love
Everywhere I go

Repeating what she said before

But this time

I'd rather stay slightly pure
With a heartbreaking free

Trying to be carefree for all to see

For even though Love still smiles at me

She can keep her red spiritual gallows and metaphorical chair

For sometimes she tempts
Only fools

To proudly
Stand up there

(C)
Copyright John Duffy

Foundation.

Do the broken abandon the chance of love again, after going through a painful heartbreak?

Has it happened to you?