Is there shelter here in your arms oh hope!
There is, there must be.
Though storms, all mine owned in calm,
now rage on.
Just the day before, wet from the womb...
I followed, what was always you-
my fate, my reward and penance.
A soul of one made from an
irrevocable two.
You, it were.
The soul, of all that was just,
in the ether rest
yet they turned on you.
Still my sin, I permitted
and granted it,
for an answer you used.
And lo now, I'd have none of it.
Though a fool, I found reason to be-
for it was greater you see.
It was the smile of God
waving ever on
at me.
My fate, my reward, my crime
and penance (mi que linda)
A soul of one made from an
irrevocable two.
And so it is.., aya mi amore-
I'll always love you.
Upon the gossamer
and zephyr’s swell,
A chrysalis yields
forth its iridescent
grace,
Transcending the
somatic, earthly shell,
To map the ether’s
labyrinthine space.
With membranous
and variegated flight,
It navigates the floral,
sweet parterre,
A momentary splash
of liquid light,
Embellishing the
high, quiescent air.
Through short, ephemeral
and fleeting days,
This lepidopteran beauty
drifts alone,
A kaleidoscope of shifting
brilliant rays,
To human eyes a miracle
unknown.
Then twilight folds its
fragile, painted wing,
A silent, brief, and iridescent
thing.
Questions from The Ether
(A lone voice whispers)
What drives you?
Is it love or compassion?
Introspection or just plain creation?
Are you now on your soul holy mission?
Navigating life using poetry to express, all those old noises you still hear?
When remembering all the things or people you once enjoyed?
Or when you were used like a toy.
Through clever, cunning, convincing ploys?
(C) Copyright John Duffy
I walked into the shimmering air,
Where stars are woven soft and thin,
And silence hums its secret prayer,
Where all beginnings once begin.
No weight of earth, no song of rain,
Just silver webs that never break,
A sigh that holds no grief, no pain,
With hearts that beat, but never wake.
The moon’s pale breath caressed my cheek,
As love danced with glowing grace,
In realms where souls are faint and meek,
But have no need for time or space.
The winds are songs of lives undone,
Yet never lost, just swept away—
In endless light, no need for sun,
For night and dawn are one long day.
What waits beyond the stars’ dim glow
Is neither fear, nor dark, nor flame—
Just peace, and what we’ll never know,
Yet somehow known my whispered name.
If I could paint the sky for you
With various hues of bright blue
I'd make a world where troubles cease
You would be surrounded with eternal peace
I'd build you a castle in the clouds
Where laughter and love gather in crowds
In this lasting haven’s gentle breeze
Every moment would put your soul at ease
I'd gift you a life of endless grace
Where worries vanish without a trace
No more struggles no more strife
In this world you'd find a cancer free life
With the vagaries of weather,
One wishes one had Bird's feather
For a flight to a safer zone,
Where heat nor cold might crush the bone...
With the storms and ones of weather
Much focus on being together
He ceases who does wealth gather
Men with kids play roles of father
How many of us can storms weather
Without cast glances at Ether?
Who can cold fend off with cow leather
Or would bathe and soap calmly lather?
When everything around us
is dead and gone
All we have left
—is the Word
(Dreamsleep: March, 2023)
The twisting of fate
O' these mortal coils,
When shall they learn?
Never is too soon.
It is that which is possessed,
From where power is gleamed.
So that those who have not
Shall remain to be employed.
Heed this warning,
O' potential proprietor.
He who would hold power eternal
Need in this, be covetous.
For if all have control
Then does it not cease to exist?
Nay, this the very cornerstone
Of which all is built.
So break your back,
Work and die under the sun.
Listen not to what I say
So that I may reign eternal.
MCOII
(sometime between 2011 and 2013)
Clockwork in the ether,
Prancing through the mind of the universe
No one stops or hesitates
It happens automatically
Without any ticking or fanfare
Clockwork in the ether
Parading from one reality to the next
Taking notice of no one
Time happening in an imaginary way
We dream on, seeing it but not understanding
In the Ether
David J Walker
Somewhere in the ether
The words were lost
At a sorrowful cost to
The lovers
Of such things as
Words sweetened with a
Colorful burst of sensual dust
A love much more than a lust
A love as true and pure as trust
Carried off by an uncaring wind
Lend
me another
If you can
Send
me another
If you can plan to
Make it just like
the last time
I said
I love you
Out loud
I
I may share my love for Jesus and Bible - in vain
The practice is its own reward: His Word is everything
From Gauge, Level, Voltage and Testing Machine -
For philosophies, hermeneutics, gymnastics, gyrating -
The Acid test of Scripture: if it's not there, I'm passing ...
II
Look "up" is a general point, you may generally take from me
But I challenge you, "UP" one day "down" another way
If one points at the sky, while the Earth spins, where's "up" really?
Still, looking at sky, stars and more at night, is serious PLAY
Looking beyond the garbage on level ground, ether beckons U & me
III
Then again, "looking up" is well-deployed to uplift one's spirit
There's something magical when we shift gazing at people, to trees
And higher - be they clouds, falling snow, even hail, or - satellite
More and more CREEPING STARS I see up there, satellites they be!
Still, I say look up - it works wonders - no matter what bothers me
Sky and more
Placeholder - PositionHolder - Pegging place for stars
As is each wave on the Ocean, fully ocean yet separate in sight
Canvas of all there ever was, is, and will be: my eternal home
Everyone's CANVAS if we fully grasp, embrace SPACE: figures and background
My ego won't prevent me being the biggest background ever: Space
Does a poet's heart link with gentle clouds from afar
to capture fragments of magic that stray from a star?
October 7, 2021
Couplet #3 contest
sponsored by L. Milton Hankins
Second Place Trophy!
upon reflection
the mirror lied to your face
***
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