Notes About The Poem

The Bardo


“The Bardo”

“Don’t play with  me,” she remonstrated.
The new contract handed to her swiftly,
she understood the brief, all too well,
though it was somewhat
elongated.

“That’s a long, thin line to walk, towards the future,”
her eyes like trampolines bounced their truth back
through his azure windows, into that which stood
transparent and alive, behind the veil and its shadows,
on the other side.

“Well, we’ve waited this long, what’s another millenia.”
The veiled replied.

“True. There’s always the Bardo.” she considered,
“Neither Heaven nor Hell, no wars in between,
fallen angels get by just fine, the politics are non-existent,
all is forgiven, upon review of hearts grown new and wise,
eventually all is forgotten, and of course,
in the lost forrest of dreams,
love and lust abound.

Forever never gives up,
nor gives in. There, 
the forgotten are found.”

The match lit,
the flames take.

Love consumes.
Love burns.

High stakes.



Candide Diderot. ‘26






“Like a dark star, falls from grace
You burn across the sky
And I would find you wings to fly
And I would catch you
I would catch your fall”
(excerpt, “Slide Away”, Michael Hutchence)


“If you told me
Nothing's perfect
Hearts are broken
Nothing's free
I could show you
Why it's worth it
That's the way that it's meant to be...
(excerpt, “The Possibilities”, Michael Hutchence)


“You have the longing
Of a broken heart
Shined your light in a room
That was frozen dark
Lookin' into your eyes
I'm crossin' the river
To get to you
I'm crossin' the river
And this time I'll make it through
With your faith and your arms open wide
I see you there on the other side
Crossin' the river …” 
(excerpt, “Crossing the River”, The Devlins)


“Your words are lost, there's no aim
It's pure emotion that holds this flame
And the rain will fall and touch your heart
It's pure devotion alone in the dark ..

The shadows fall all around
There's no one to harm you here, nowhere to be found
And it seems like we've been lost in the world of our
Own thoughts
There's no one I'd rather be with now until the end …

So tell me what you feel
Tell me every little thing
Tell me all that you are now
And tell me what it's like to see
From your own heart
Now I've got you
... Alone in the dark” 
(excerpts, “Alone in the Dark”, The Devlins)


“Heard a story
It sounded easy
Got a new skin …” 
(excerpt, “The Possibilities, Michael Hutchence)


“And you will see
The sky turn blue with all your light
And you will see
That after all this time, I almost made you smile…” 
(excerpt, “Almost Made You Smile”, The Devlins)
Copyright © | Year Posted 2026

Poem

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Hind Avatar
June 28, 2026 at 9:43 PM
very real to the core, Candide
Etgen-Baker Avatar
June 27, 2026 at 3:35 PM
you're a gifted and intense poet. wishing you well.
Diderot Avatar
June 26, 2026 at 3:25 AM
https://genius.com/Michael-hutchence-slide-away-lyrics
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 6:22 PM
The Bardo.
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 6:23 PM
"The Bardo" most commonly refers to the Tibetan Buddhist concept of an "intermediate state" between death and rebirth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardo
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 6:22 PM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardo_Thodol
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 6:11 PM
"I would recognise you in total darkness, were you mute and I deaf. I would recognise you in another lifetime entirely, in different bodies, different times. And I would love you in all of this, until the very last star in the sky burnt out into oblivion." (Madeleine Miller, The Song of Achilles).
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 6:06 PM
"Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies." (Aristotle /Recorded in Diogenes Laërtius' Lives of Eminent Philosophers)
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 6:03 PM
"Love is born into every human being; It calls back the halves of our original nature together; It tries to make one out of two, and heal the wound of human nature. Each of us, then, is a matching half of a human whole…and each of us is always seeking the half that matches them.
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 6:03 PM
And when one of them meets with their other half, the actual half of themself ... the pair are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy, and one will not be out of the other's sight, even for a moment." (Plato, The Symposium).
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 4:55 PM
“Alone in the Dark”, The Devlins.
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 4:58 PM
https://youtu.be/Wl2VB-gvozY?si=tKK4EpFS_jb04_XL
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 4:58 PM
LYRICS/”Alone in the Dark”, The Devlins. ******************** https://www.lyricsfreak.com/d/devlins/alone+in+the+dark_20741626.html
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 4:55 PM
“Crossing the River”, The Devlins.
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 4:56 PM
https://youtu.be/R_J7yLUVUG8?si=bP0aGfmSWrE3MYkJ
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 4:56 PM
LYRICS/"Crossing the River", The Devlins. ************ https://www.streetdirectory.com/lyricadvisor/song/coowle/crossing_the_river/
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 4:54 PM
“Slide Away”, Michael Hutchence.
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 5:04 PM
https://youtu.be/96E7FmiZbUc?si=CniaCRv2EgZ0NiTy
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 5:04 PM
LYRICS/”Slide Away”, Michael Hutchence. ************* https://genius.com/Michael-hutchence-slide-away-lyrics
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 4:54 PM
“The Possibilities”, Michael Hutchence.
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 5:03 PM
https://youtu.be/DRBbuHr1jbo?si=6uhCHeWOTde1w-Dp
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 5:03 PM
LYRICS/”The Possibilities”, Michael Hutchence. ************** https://genius.com/Michael-hutchence-possibilities-lyrics
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 4:54 PM
“Almost Made You Smile”, The Devlins.
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 5:01 PM
https://youtu.be/A_JRV_iQQBk?si=Rn67JpvQCg-eyPZS
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 5:01 PM
LYRICS/”Almost Made You Smile”, The Devlins. ************** https://genius.com/Devlins-almost-made-you-smile-lyrics
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 4:54 PM
“Every Time You Go”, The Devlins
Diderot Avatar
June 24, 2026 at 5:00 PM
https://youtu.be/A_JRV_iQQBk?si=Rn67JpvQCg-eyPZS
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