(A lone voice whispers)

In the wind,  
In a gale, or at sea,  

Evoked by angels at daylight,  
Awoken by devils at midnight.  

And just broken  
In between.  

I once wandered like Dante,  
Experiencing heaven and hell  

Simultaneously,  
Like a shadow being,  
A Djinn.  

Unfolded like a rare, old-world map,  
Cold and lost as life's winds destroyed all my sanctuaries.  

I once used as cover while my broken heart recovered.  

But today,  

On December the fifth,  
The third day after you left,  

I feel resurrected and reincarnated like Mephibosheth.  

For, like in all relationships, holding Death's cold hands while you once wandered isn’t real death:
  
Only a tragic play.  

Yet one can feel burnt at the stake,  

Like the family and servants in a play

Written by someone known as Shakespeare,  
Called Macbeth.  

(C) Copyright John Duffy

)A man clad in white speaks to a shimmering female shadow)

Alone in this place,  
Unable to touch you and watched by the Mighty Dogan.  

Overhead, hiding above you

Shining like a rebellious and calculating Archimedes,

I still search for the whole you and  the Purple Flame
The light that will help to guide me home.  

To you.
My red rose of Cairo

Before the Great Dogan warriors appear and try to defeat me,  

The Malachi,

The legendary stalkers of the Black Forest who climb high into the Quantum Spaces
  
In the Great-Between,

To reach the golden threads  
And enter dreams unseen.  

To cause confusion and delusion.
  
That’s why I'm still searching for the Purple Flame,  

A secret Philosopher's Stone known to burn the portals to the Quantum Spaces,  

Before the Mighty Dogan and his armies  
Of the Malachi  

Use their unique access to try to enter your soul's secret places.

(C)
Copyright John Duffy

(A lone voice whispers)

Like the Sagittarius A* Black Hole, at the centre of our own known galaxy.

Does getting older make you slowly swallow more and more former memories?

To wallow in bygone years spent with family, friends, lovers and enemies?

Like this Senryu below looking at the weaknesses of human nature.

Found in all human semidocumentaries?

Breathlessness Desire
Adolescent Memories
Old age consumes all

(575)

(C)
Copyright John Duffy

Need some inspiration?

Title.
The Sacred Hollow.

(A lone voice whispers)

Have you been subtly conditioned to overlook your true potential?

Does a voice sometimes whisper?

Whether in sleep or in daylight?

Open your tired eyes wide and reach for the stars.

See how far you can go.

Cast off the chains of conditioning

That appeared as you grew older.

Be courageous and break free from what you’ve been told.

Mould a new mindset before you become set in your ways or too old

Setting an example for future generations to follow,

Before your spirit returns to The Sacred Hollow.

(C) Copyright John Duffy

Foundation.

As the sudden rise in cancer grows, a piece relating to the emotional trauma it leaves.

Grief is such a painful journey we all must make, someday.

Title:
Fluorescent Memories

(A lone man looks at a shrine in his bedroom and quietly thinks aloud, as the family cat watches)

I still miss my love and her bright brown eyes.

Her incredible wit, her beautiful smile, and her outrageous ability to light up any given room with just one look.

Those painful, fluctuating memories follow me like the ghosts of the Goryō.

They return, biting like a shiver of tiger sharks.

Akin to my own Gospel according to Mark.

Everywhere I go, now that she's gone, when I'm suddenly reminded of her.

And how she was martyred on the grey cross of life, paying the sacrifices it takes to make love work.

Before cancer arrived, and double-parked.

(C)
Copyright John Duffy

Martyrs refer to Japanese spirits, often the ghosts of those who have sacrificed for a cause.

Like an unseen ghost
True Love materialised
Owned until the end

(575)

(C)
Copyright John Duffy

Is this the most authentic and stripped-back version of life when you truly commit to another person?

To live, one must work.

Work for money,  
Work on being happy,  
Work on relationships,  
Work on staying committed.  

Or maybe you're still searching for that special someone to walk home with?

Title:
Commitment. #Senryu

We walked our way home,  
Signed up for a white wedding,  
To work to our graves.

(575)

(C) Copyright John Duffy