The Love Gambler Poem by John Duffy

Did you once love me

Or is it still just another darkly lit daydream



Illuminated by shadow birthing white candles



I habitually cling to
In my self-imposed darkness



One where we'll never find true happiness
Or togetherness



Did I claim a part of your once unapproachable soul
As you once preached



A place
Where now



No one
No longer knows



For it's beyond their mortal reach



When on that sad but memorable day
In Los Angeles



You quietly told me
Standing by The Four Ladies of Hollywood



To go



Was I just a childish
foolish dream to carry you



On a crimson stretcher of unrequited love
To safety



Beyond some deep emotional pain
You were going through



Am I now just discarded
Like a drained paper Costa coffee cup



Since you said your unbearable goodbyes



When you embraced
On that fateful day
Before we went to Los Angeles



All your family and friends
Sweet backstabbing lies



Will I rise to face any upcoming storms
With the winds of change



As it blows over my prayers of positive new horizons



Watching me standing
Here at the beginning of the worlds many awakening united nations



Or will I fall headfirst into the blood-red snow of self-flagellation



But as I pause and look back at my life
And meditate over its unique highways



I hope
Deep down

They are replenished with self-growth



With a roll of these lucky soul-transforming



Black and white dice
Called Transmigration
I now toss



Copyright John Duffy