I watch and wait
Sitting on the bank
Of the deep green pond
Humming a soft song
The pearls in my body
Begin to set
Now I know
There’s nothing to fret
My mind was a bedlam
My heart askew
Now all is silent
Now I shan’t move
I trail my hands
Along your face
The silhouette of my love
Taking me to that place
You were lost
But now are found
And now my mind
Is safe and sound
The fairies laugh
The lambs doth cry
Because I’ve come
To weep a goodbye
But thou shalt not weep
Not over me
For I am not lost
On the deep dark sea
Not on earth
Not in heaven
But somewhere out there
Where I can hold him again
So spake simple Simon
On a breezy summer day,
Watch and wait a gust of wind
With tune of lute afar away.
And don’t despair a bud’s decay
But welcome dandelion fuzz.
Bid your eyes to busy bee,
Hear him join the song a-buzz.
Pink and purple petals cause
A subtle and polite milieu,
For summer’s simple day of song,
First dawn then day and then ensue.
Fire- fire- fire
A scorching wind of the four corners.
Lava breaks the ground beneath you.
Igniting all that surrounds you.
The alarm blares at the station
Fighters of fire scramble
toward their readied engines.
In a flash, like a spark on this heated moment-
Vapor rises like a cold mist melting the alarm.
Your vision fades-
The station is silent.
Reality reclaiming its ground,
sending you back over by the fires,
You watch and wait,
trailing on the winds of ash and smoke.
Comes a branding thought-
caught by your ears:
"Be patient, wait for your help.
You will not see it,
nor know its ways.
But you will survive."
Deafened by the roar of the blaze
and crackling of the ground
Screaming "I have nowhere to go!"
Patience- Patience- patience
The message melts across the fires.
Baking its way into your ears.
"Days are fleeting and will end.
Years are hard with labor but will soften.
Decades fade into the fires, those will cool.
Remain patient,
and wait for your help.
You will not see it,
nor know its ways.
But you will survive."
Light I see so dim
My eyes blur as they humour my sin
I watch and wait while they teach
And nod and annoy my eye and throat
My write scratches and marks
I smile when I remember my stupidity
Not happily
I think and i wish,
But it is not something I do
Though I wish, and laugh
This with no wave as light
Will it kinder and kindle some?
Despite its worthless, lack of ability
can they love the weak and false
And powerful to look above?
So not even near their level?
Or to be appreciated by those weird people
Who will either scoff or laugh laugh high above
Themselves or me
But that silent one - are you powerful or a lie?
Surely we all know, those with nothing
Are the best critiques, You know it all but it
Is a a robbery to say it good, right?
I can’t trust you either way, for your thoughts are a lying
Ruffles of sand that flash before my eyes in every waking moment
Oceans of blue that briefly lift and meet mine
My plain, brown eyes, that would blend in the mud
And my clothes that never lose the scent of pine
Versus his hoodies and the gold chain that hangs around his neck
Or the glasses that come and go upon his nose,
His brain, or the fact he shares a name
With the boy who hurt me the most.
When I stand surrounded, I look for him
Watching the door, hoping to see his hesitant gait
And the way he shoves his hands in his pockets
Seemingly content to stop, watch, and wait.
When the day fades to night, and the crickets cease to chirp
It’s him who haunts me when I lie awake in bed
Replaying each little interaction
And regretting the things that i never said.
Every corner of my mind stays aware
Of how fragile our tether will be
If I allow myself to stare into those oceans of blue
A single wave would wash us out to sea.
So silent I sit whenever he comes around
The fear that I keep protects my fractured heart
Injured, but not quite broken
By a love that didn’t start.
Seeds of desires were sown as our glances met.
Emotive urge started to flow though hidden yet.
Wobbled heart got confused to manifest.
No way ! Shy silent love to hesitate.
Not sure, whether you will reciprocate !
Better, you might approach, I’ll watch and wait.
But I chose you as king of my little empire.
My passion was piercing me to ignite fire.
Unable to express myself, but I’m sincere.
I won’t suppress ardent ardour more, it’s clear.
I must drive away clouds of dilemma entire.
“The clouds parted like the pursed lips of desire.”
We live our lives not for this world but for the world to come.
So follow not your worldly ways but the paths of Christ, the Son.
What seems so long, our days on earth, a blink of the Father’s eye.
So listen, heed His holy voice and to His will comply.
A thousand years within His sight are like a moment gone.
Yet patiently we watch and wait for the breaking of the dawn.
We contemplate our fragile lives and we trust in God alone.
We thank Him for the love and grace and mercy He has shown.
To Father, Son and Spirit blessed we offer every praise.
For every hour of every day we all stand before their gaze.
Take pity, Lord, Your servants cry. How long until Your return?
For You alone do our souls trust. For You our bodies yearn.
"Pretty clouds filled with water, then it rains down." By Poet
I love to sit and watch the clouds,
as they dance across the big blue sky.
If I watch and wait what will I see,
animals like a zoo walking by.
One day I ask a big bright white cloud,
where are you going?
I was shocked when it answered back,
off to play it replied to me.
I did not know clouds could talk,
then I heard back-as a rule we don't.
I asked-how can pretty clouds rain down?
We get sad from traveling over the world,
when we have had enough then we rain tears down.
Thoughts of a Border Collie While
Pondering a Bone
Mine, mine, mine, I think
as I drip drool on the floor.
Bloody meat clings
tenaciously to the hard bone.
White fat, like veins of gold,
marbles the red treat.
My owner is thawing this delicious
delicacy on the counter.
I watch and wait with longing
as I think of the animal odor.
Sharp canines will soon tear
and rend all from the cow’s femur.
My probing tongue will pull the tangy,
succulent marrow from its hiding place.
When all has been eaten, it will
become my favorite chew toy as
I will gnaw, gnaw, gnaw until not
one atom remains.
Then I will lay back in the cool shade
and realize I am a lucky dog.
(A lone voice whispers)
With reflection
In this
The midnight hour
I light a white candle
For the one
Who once had me
Under her power
Driven by loves
Powerful desires
For us,
The Almas Perdidas
(Lost Souls)
Maybe like you
The
Left Be-Hinders
Who wallow and wade through griefs tiring waters
With a broken heart
After love says
Farewell
To then become new drinkers
From Depressions deep well
Praying love returns
With a ring of a lone bell
To see true love
Once more and say
Stay
Please
Don't go away
And melt my heart
Stay
So we are now
No longer
Torn apart
But like all pilgrims seeking God
In their own particular way
We know the bell will never ring
We know our hearts will never heal or sing
So we live
In a living version of Purgatory
Dying with each breath of decay
We take
As we watch and wait for our call
To join others
Now living beyond
Purgatory Great Gates
(C)
Copyright John Duffy
The rain had stopped…the sun was about to set…
It was the perfect time for a rainbow chaser such as I…
to watch and wait for that multi-colored arch to form across the sky.
The conditions couldn’t be more perfect…the sun setting after a storm…
but as I waited…as I searched the sky…the rainbow never formed.
Still…I am undeterred…the next time the conditions are right
to the sky I will be facing….
For the next time I just might see that rainbow I am chasing.
I do not know why sometimes…when everything seems perfect…
when the conditions are just right….
sometimes I won’t see a rainbow…while other times…I might.
I suppose that’s what keeps me chasing rainbows…
all throughout the years….
waiting to feel the joy and celebrate the moment one appears.
In some ways life is a lot like chasing rainbows…
Sometimes conditions are perfect to reach whatever goal we’ve sought…
and sometimes we will catch that rainbow…
while other time…we will not.
But fear not…for anytime we miss a rainbow…
all is not as bad as it may seem….
because in between the rainbows we catch…
and the rainbows we do not…
there is room for our wishes, hopes and dreams.
(A lone voice whispers)
I live in The Great Casum
The in-between place
No one knows me as I watch you all race
Some of the blind call me god
Some don't
But you know
Good for them all
For I watch and wait
You'll soon know my name when you walk through my gate
Copyright John Duffy
Casum is the accusative singular of the Latin word casus, which means "a fall; falling down; accident, occurrence, chance event; end, termination; case".
(“The Cave of Unknowing”, 2012, original oil)
As The World Burns
As the world turns
The morning soap operas play out
In print and film, song and dance
Showing on every screen
A world ablaze with fear
Disease, famine, war and rumors of war
Programming the programmable
While I sit in my room a cocoon
Surrounded by dogs
All sprawled out on chair and sofa and floor
Asleep at ease and peace
Filling the house
With their own therapeutic vibe
Beyond worry at least as long as they dream
While I watch and wait
Soothed by their dogged oblivion
As the world outside turns and burns
And I grow just a little more uncomfortable
Filling a delightful cocoon that I know
Must eventually open
Into a great unknown.
(12/11/24)
I think one of life's hardest tasks
is to watch and wait while a loved one basks
in something that is harmful
while praying for them to become grateful
for helping them survive
while wanting them to thrive
love is very hard when a loved one
is hoping for life to be done
sitting in the ICU and just watching them sleep
while not making a peep
Praying constantly for them to understand
that their life means something grand
to those that love them forever and always
no matter what happens in the coming days
The Trails of Sanity
Why do I care if the disturber carries on
Why is it I cannot just wait it out, bide my time
Be more mindful, try and bond
Embrace what I don’t understand
Welcome the scorching taste in my mouth
I wait, I watch, and watch and wait
what seems a millennium
The afterglow of embers still burn
Just sit tight…
The day ends with a tug on the swatch
of the backpack, I doff it off my shoulders
I hear the trifles start up once more behind me
As my eyes wander upwards
As the Rigel star taps into my soul
As I surrender inward, a whispering voice
cues consolingly…
Here you are
Mind at ease
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