A raw nerve exposed
A painful wound reopened
- Next step of healing
So much to do, so little time
So little to do, so much time
So Life unfolds in phases all its own
A life’s work made whole by halves
A woman’s may never be done
While a man’s may have yet to begun.
(7/4/26)
Life it seems has its stages,
Each natural and appropriate
At the designated time.
We begin by grasping and holding
And we end by letting go.
Apparently that letting go
Takes a lifetime to learn.
(5/11/26)
I know I was never your favorite,
But you could have given me warning
Your letter came as a surprise
So I packed my bags in the morning
You denied all I’ve worked for
I don’t think you knew
That through every ocean
I did it for you
It must’ve been out of anger
I was your music box for so long
Don’t understand why you shattered me
Still don’t know what I did wrong
Looking back, I wonder
Why I accepted your bargain
I thought I was your thesis
Now I’m just a note in the margins
Another depression on the surface of the moon
It won’t be long before I cease to exist
You’ll move on to other galaxies
With me clenched in your fist
It’s painful how quickly I’ve learned to move on
Maybe the only reason I accepted it
Was that somewhere in the trenches of my heart
I had unwillingly expected it
Among the twinkling constellations
I was your star, so I thought I would shine
And in another universe
Maybe you could have been mine
Staring at all of these pages
Thinking about all of the cages
Wondering if time is what ages
Or if we’re just shifting stages
Ink doesn’t wrinkle with time
Stories don’t weaken or fade
They live in this moment forever
Perfect in choices once made
Is it love when you fall for the little you know,
for moments that pass, yet quietly glow?
A few smiles, a few words, a fleeting grace,
and still your heart finds its resting place.
It’s innocent, pure ,untouched by fear,
a love that blooms when someone’s near.
But maybe love is something more,
that stays when storms begin to pour.
To know their chaos, their truth, their scars,
and still see light where the shadows are.
A love that’s calm, that learns to stay,
With the fading butterflies which were made up of clay
Both feel real, both feel true,
one born in wonder, one that grew.
Perhaps love changes, yet stays the same
from tender spark to steady flame.
Waiting for it to be claimed
I pray as you age, that I get to see every stage. Yes, it may be sad to witness the new wrinkles and Grays, but to have you throughout the many different changes that await.To be there with you, no matter the newest sign of age. I guess with every new day the only bitter thing I can say is, that we near closer to a place where you will not get to see me go through those same stages of gray. I pray that as I near the end of my time, I am able to look back and remember all the moments we shared all the different stages between you and I. So, I will enjoy you when I don’t, and even more when I do. I’m just so blessed to have a resilient mother in this lifetime, who is as strong and brave like you. My mom,my first stage, the first heartbeat my ears heard play. I love you no matter how far distance says we are. What a beautiful gift to experience life and all it gives from entrance to exit. What a gift to experience time, what a present it is to be born, to live, laugh, grow old and die.
I stood in the garden, looking at the tree,
I laughed at its shapes, so alien to me,
Belittled the branches, some blooming, some burned,
Though my ignorance, so blinding, soon turned.
I sit near the tree, admiring its might,
The subtle features, the dark and the light,
Its cycle, eternal, of wither and bloom,
Brings about hope, for my coming doom.
I’ll lay on the roots, under the tree,
In light or in shade, you’ll have to see,
Though I’ll be gone, my fruit may grow,
Legacy its name, as you may know.
Do not stare in unbelief
Or marvel at the moment of a miracle
Rather stand in complete relief
That energy has shown itself completely
In metamorphic perfection
Metamorphic elements in pure perfection
Evolve and become the seeds
The next stage of evolution
Be not in a state of amazement
But content in each moment of the process
(A reflective voice whispers)
In the Dawn of a new feeling of Life,
Maybe even at high school
Did you embrace one of its golden rules
To hold hands with someone you deemed so special
Encouraged by first love's, sweet kiss
For it to then carry you through, to meet the super cool, Twilight of your Life
With the only true one, whose love has never cooled:
And if you're still incredibly lucky, brings you such bliss
Or did the Shadows of Life appear
Smiling like a Nazgûl
Like a dark thief at night
To take back God's divine gift, and leave you scrambling and grieving
Daydreaming of the Dawn and Twilight of your Life
Before something cruel, caused you, to separate and drift
When everything seemed so perfect and nice
Before the deep cut, of The Shadows of Life's
Sharp, ceremonial knife
(C) Copyright John Duffy
Stage One: There was a crime? Oh, please don't offend,
because I'm saying IT NEVER HAPPENED.
Stage Two: Just ignore whatever you read.
IT HAPPENED BUT NOT THE WAY YOU SAID.
Stage Three: Okay, Giuliani, our legal eagle
said IT HAPPENED BUT IT WASN'T ILLEGAL.
(Wait, what? Giuliani's been disbarred?)
Stage Four: Okay, the liberal press did their due diligence
and we have to admit
IT HAPPENED, IT WAS ILLEGAL
BUT THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT.
Stage Five: Enough with your fake news bit.
Your reporting's not worth a bucket of spit.
IT HAPPENED, WE'RE PROUD OF IT
AND YOU'RE A TRAITOR FOR QUESTIONING IT!
Embryonic Stage
So comfy and warm
Not feeling a hint of harm
Oh, what’s happening
Birth
Good grief, it’s so cold
O’er and o’er again was told
“Beautiful baby”
Child Age
Play sports, make good grades
Life’s full of adventure days
Hates vegetables
Teen Years
It’s an awkward age
Parents struggle through this stage
Just stay sane through it
Young Adult Years
Leaving home first time
Into unknown, a steep climb
Where will it all end
Middle Adult Years
Work and family
Agony and ecstasy
Stalwart day by day
Older Adult Years
Body , soul, and mind
Seeking peace of special kind
Beyond ever known
Christ said
Judge and condemn not
But people do too much
For us to remain silent
The truth is hard to say
It's also hard to swallow.
Now ponder
You might wonder
Your perception
A reflection of you
Do you know the meaning of life?
Everyone with different story or meaning
I guess none knows the meaning of life.
What are your opinions about life?
You can't finish education
Just as you can't own or know it all
Everyone have their own view or point
As time passes by, season changes
Life comes with stages
Different pages and chapters unveiling it's true meaning.
Am I in that stage of Grief where I’m just angry?
Like how dare you leave me?
You were the glue.
I shed a tear or two.
Then aggression enters and it feels like a big f you
I need you.
But you had better things to do
How is it? The other realm?
I just wish I could see you again
Take some of this pain away
I’m overwhelmed.
It just won’t be the same
I have to accept that before I go insane
You’re dead.
I need to get that in my head
I'm not an 'ingénue' anymore - that’s been vitiated.
I'm not innocent, pure, naive or vulnerable -
which are technically, 'ingénue' requirements
(I don’t make the rules).
That being said, if no one has an objection,
in terms of narrative trajectory, I'd like to be
considered a 'fémme fatale' until further notice.
.
.
Songs for this:
HEATED by Beyoncé
Hysterical Us by Magdalena Bay
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