He guards the perimeter of
my newly built life,
An unappointed warden to
his long- departed wife.
His surveillance is a shadow,
heavy and profound,
As his relentless, predatory
footsteps trace my ground.
He orchestrates a calculated,
unconcerned chase,
Inserting his fixation into
every public space.
My mailbox is violated,
stripped of its defense,
By his intrusive fingers and
his desperate, dark suspense.
He intercepts my letters with
a convert, hungry gaze,
To map the secret geography
of my escaping days.
Invisible tripwires hum with
electronic sight,
As hidden lenses pierce the
sanctuary of my night.
Those cold, robotic apertures
are blinking from the trees,
Recording every movement
on his digital decrees.
He is a phantom archivist,
compiling what I do,
An omnipresent voyeur of a
life he can't renew.
This suffocating vigilance,
this voyeuristic thrall,
Has turned my independence
to an exhibition hall.
He hovers like a specter in
an inescapable grid,
Unraveling the safety where
my fragile freedom hid.
A microscopic tyranny that
never lets me be.
Hiding from rain
Lies a slick raven
That old wisdom retains
Loves shades of loneliness
Traps all stirs of sounds
Bears mounts of pains
Have you fallen into the oldest of traps, before?
(A lone voice whispers)
Be Illuminated.
Don't be like the many and fall into a readers' mindset, and believe everything you read is true.
Be sophisticated and ingenious.
And when reading poetry, be conveniently adventurous.
Don't always think it personally relates to the author:
For that trap is the oldest of the old.
Going back to poetry's first beginnings.
Poets do sometimes relate their stories to be told, but generally, perhaps:
They're really creating secret escapes.
Imagery, emotions and landscapes, for those seeking shelter.
From the cold, unforgiving, light of just living.
(C)
Copyright John Duffy
I have a story to tell
Where survival and pain
Literally broke the veil.
It took years to see
The truth of my abuse
And the memories of my hurt
Has given me my muse.
I fell into men that craved control.
I knew one day I would get rest
For my weary soul.
Physical pain was a common norm
And my abusers have released my storm.
I take no orders.
My boundaries have no give.
I’m locked away tightly
Behind iron doors
Where I will shine brightly.
My wires are set.
The traps are laid out.
Anyone trying to enter
Will leave with a pout.
Tread with caution.
or trip a wire,
your gift will be an explosion of fire.
You will burn down to ash
with nothing to recover.
They ambled thru the town with out a care,
the momma and her baby, little bear..
People on the street all froze and stared,
at the momma and her baby, little bear..
Some gathered on their porches and watched
in their chairs, the momma and her baby, little bear..
Many grew scared as the sirens blared,
at the momma and her baby, little bear..
The Sheriff shot in his gun in the air,
at the momma and her baby, little bear..
Some set traps in the woods to catch the pair,
the momma and her baby, little bear..
The Mayor put up signs to BEWARE of
the momma and her baby, little bear..
Eventually they wandered off some where,
the momma and her baby, little bear..
The shades of “blues” might have an intense wavelength.
It literally overshadows her “colorful seasons”.
This school champion might already realize this.
Games are not that easy in this "normal world."
An imperfect design never fits into the Fine System.
It never fails to tell her how bad she is in this.
It might be her first criticism.
She push herself hard, in this race of Infinite Perfection.
Sometimes running, chasing, breaking.
Even pleading never going to works.
It's not that easy. Right?
The more intense she gets, the more she sags and breaks.
but she is still too imperfect to get pity on her.
What she tries to do?
does she collect the shattered pieces?
that was over-walked by many without even noticing.
What… sudden gray shades in the weather?
ooh….! I think rain is going to come.
It is one of an intense, heavy rain.
Why does she still crawl over there?
Wait.. what shading her?
Is that wings, that she folded before leaving school?
Wow…! It's almost rusted, what red shades on it ?
Oh, my god, I think we caught.
Hi...…! "May I fly again?"
When the king meant to
Give Esther half of kingdom
Because of much love.
Some men can put blame
On the king for doing that,
Forgeting true love.
Women have powers
Which men failed to understand
From years to today.
tactics and technics
Of many women are not
of this world, watch out.
June 28/2023
I have a gross handicap:
While sleeping retains my cap,
As I read feet in shoes tap
And easily a work “Crap!”
…And spoiled kids’ knuckles rap;
During sermon daring a nap,
Bathsheba survey her lap;
For my trips shun the best map…
Can I crush my handicap?
Enough to energy sap:
Eccentric wings stop their flap
While Handicap fills some gap…
But die could most handicaps:
As easy as rats in traps;
Sure, a cop and his hard slaps
Orders for water to start laps.
The sundews appear first
Marching over the horizon with confidence
Sage insects scatter, attempting to hide.
Pitcher plants show up in the next formation.
Announcing the imminent arrival of the Venus Fly Traps.
There is a frenzy now.
The insects are buzzing in terror.
They fly toward the eating army.
Anticipating their death.
Wanting it to be over quickly.
Too sensitive will make life hard
Too ignorant will make life meaningless
Our five gifted senses
Do sense life and its essences
Because we're sensitive and we care
Sensitivity will bring us
Truth and justice
Prevention and salvation
Avoidance of errors, dangers and traps
A better life
A better ideology
A better affection and love
Lastly
A better world to live
For the next generation
Whom we love and care
Dogs won’t bother these traps the exterminator said.
They have poison in them and they’ll make mice dead.
They snap shut with indicators of green and red.
He was their chief expert, his name was Big Fred.
He had not met our dog Buddy, who was asleep on our bed.
Buddy ate that mouse trap this evening, my husband said.
He’s thrown up his food all over our Kansas homestead.
I am angry about it and blame that pest guy, Big Fred.
The tap has replaced the well
Wealth has replaced poverty
The present has replaced the past
Everything comes and goes
Thr children have grown up
And the parents were gone
Yesterday a chicken fell into the well
Flapping the wings vigorously
And a bucket was dropped
For the rescue
Now we fell into the many traps of a city
Get tangled, struggling hard to get loose
But left to be helpless
The bucket of rescue is no where to be seen
It has gone and disappeared
Together with the old well
Many rats
Capturing my kitchen
An alarming menace
To end up at once
Going for a trap is the answer
But selling my cat is a question
Red Pandas are listed as, endangered
and 50% of their habitat, is in the Eastern Himalayas
The Red Pandas name, comes from the Napali word, ‘ponya’
which means bamboo or plant eating animal, that likes to chew bamboo
Red Pandas have acrobatic skills, using them high in the trees
but their forests have been cleared, for the lose their nesting trees
They are often killed in traps, that have not been set for them
and they have been poached for fur, creating genetic mayhem
we are surrounded by weasel words
mental traps we set for ourselves
to shut down all rational discussion
in truly Orwellian fashion
these words are legend
everyone uses them
no one thinks about them
what they really mean
I had no choice
of course, one always has a choice
Failure is not an option
nothing but macho BS
of course failure is always an option
that one must be prepared to face
and my favorite
zero tolerance
which converts
all violations of the Rules
into class A murder like felonies
and common sense and discretion
thrown out the window
under the proverbial bus
where the full SWAT
Imperial storm troopers
Robot cops are deployed
to arrest a teenage girl
her crime giving a classmate
a Tylenol which is a legal drug
but under zero tolerance
that is the same as selling heroin
and she will be charged
with a class A drug offense
following her around
for her life
for having dared
to break the stupid rule
yes weasel words
are everywhere
our mental traps
designed to keep us
from thinking
and acting
so throw off your mental traps
break free from the weasel words
and perhaps we can be free
of these mental traps
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