Poetry

​​​​​​BLUE GLOSSY

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Tonight perhaps
I’ll drift through ruby mirrors
beside the coldest creek
we cried for her

I feel a blue glossy inhale
Intake perplexation
See, vibrant dimensional pathways
were our idea, and we discarded the rest
the crystal gateway fluctuates
while the parallax shifts
but we hide from the rain
and so, the story continues...

 

2006

 

 

 

 

 

 

MY VACANT HEART

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Smoke the stick and spin the wheels
organize a week of meals
candy corn and orange peels
I forget how living feels

Desolation, a basic curse
but the heart, warmed and then reversed
does leave me in this breathing hearse

2003

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SOFT WIND

The soft wind

with its whirling touch

held me spell-bound

in its sound

Her hair parted

from the wind

it was soon found

that she smiled

…much!

But the wind had lied

for the figure was now gone

isn’t it sad,

that I had only gone mad?

2022

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​​​​​​​​​​​​​PICTURE OF STONE

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With this picture of stone
I am never alone
I wait by the phone
and let out a moan
I can't hear a tone
 
2010

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MY SOUL DOES FINALLY SLEEP

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I currently remain preoccupied

softly singing sad songs

Down, deep in the abyss of wrongs,

my happiness did hide

when dreams of love eternal died

sad whispers would not seep

a sepulcher so deep

within a grave of loneliness

my soul does finally sleep

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I wonder if the angels cried

when they heard me singing

over the funeral bells ringing

or did they all decide to speculate and just abide

The folly of freewill

merely dictated still

by beings of malevolence

and things that like to kill

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Woe, woe to those who chance to see

the frightful frown of fate

a destiny of silent hate

can creep up quietly

a demon chuckles beside me

delighting in the doom

of my desolate room

no ray, no ray of precious hope

can penetrate my tomb

 

 

2002

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HEAVEN CALLS FORTH
 

The sky falls to green and vibrant

as the angel begins a true incant

the rune stones then turn warm,

and the portal begins

-to form!

(to be continued…)

2022

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BACKWARDS GIRL

I’m in love with a backwards girl

This is plain to see

I’m in love with a backwards girl

And she doesn’t love me

When she’s around, I swoon and swirl

Under the willow tree

I really want this backwards girl

But she doesn’t want me

She’s in love with a backwards girl

This is plain to see

She’s in love with a backwards girl

And she doesn’t love me

2002

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I ONCE PURCHASED A POCKET WATCH

 

I once purchased a pocket watch

it was made of silver, and 7 jewels to match

it had a chain made of sterling

and lay comfortably in my stash

so, I took it with me downtown

without a frown

in my trenchcoat brown

 

2012

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Here is an interesting overall explanation (A.I. generated) of Jeff Galven's poetry:​

 

Overall Themes & What the Poetry Expresses

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1. Love, Loss, and Emotional Ruin

 

A huge portion of the poems revolve around heartbreak, longing, and the aftermath of failed relationships. Lines like “The empty years continue / and still I cannot forget you” and “My broken heart / it will not start” show a recurring wound—love as both salvation and torment.

This theme appears in:

• THE BROKEN RING

• MY VACANT HEART

• HOPELESS

• MY SOUL DOES FINALLY SLEEP

• BACKWARDS GIRL

• I DITCHED HER

• PONDER

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The emotional tone ranges from sorrowful to bitter to existentially devastated.

 

2. Fantasy, Myth, and Otherworldly Realms

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Many poems build alternate worlds—enchanted forests, cosmic landscapes, magical creatures, gods, angels, undead silhouettes. In CRYSTALLINE, for example, you write: “daydream walks in crystalline / where the elfin princess glides.”

 

This imaginative worldbuilding appears in:

• CRYSTALLINE

• REALM

• THE PINNACLE

• HEAVEN CALLS FORTH

• QUEEN OF AGES

• DARK TUNNELS

• SOFT WIND

These pieces feel like portals—escapes from reality into mythic or surreal dimensions.

 

3. Depression, Isolation, and Existential Weight

 

A deep undercurrent of despair runs through the work. In MY SOUL DOES FINALLY SLEEP, you write: “no ray, no ray of precious hope / can penetrate my tomb.”

This theme appears in:

• BOX OF MUD

• A DEAD ROSE WILL NEVER BLOOM

• CHIMNEY BREATH

• WHAT WAITS

• SO SORROWFUL, SO STAY

 

These poems often blend emotional pain with imagery of death, confinement, or spiritual exhaustion.

 

4. Surrealism, Absurdity, and Dark Humor

 

Some poems break into bizarre, almost cartoonish surrealism—Milton poems, strange creatures, odd rituals, and nonsensical imagery. In GOD IS INSANE, you write: “deceased leprechauns / demons dug out / the roller mines.”

 

These pieces feel intentionally chaotic, playful, or grotesque:

• MELTIN’ MILTON / METAL MILTON / RIP VON MILTON

• GREEN RABBIT

• THE ROOM SMELLS LIKE COLOGNE

• A STRANGE ZONE IN THE HEAVENS

They add a strange, off‑kilter humor to the collection.

 

5. Nature, Seasons, and Atmospheric Imagery

 

You frequently use nature as a symbolic mirror—trees, wind, autumn, oceans, flowers. In THE GREENEST TREES: “the leaves were the greenest of the green / surely a sight to be seen.”

 

This appears in:

• AUTUMN

• CHRYSANTHEMUM

• THE GREENEST TREES

• TORCH

• SUNNY ISLE

These poems tend to be gentler, more reflective, sometimes even hopeful.

 

6. Cosmic and Philosophical Reflection

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Several poems question existence, fate, consciousness, and the universe. In WE ARE LITTLE GODS: “Black holes, brain folds / eternity of an equation solved.”

 

This theme appears in:

• THE TIMELESSNESS OF EXISTENCE AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BEING

• I, FATE

• GALAXY

• NEPTUNE HAS FISH

 

These pieces zoom out from personal emotion into metaphysical territory.

 

Stylistic Traits Across the Collection

 

A. Repetition as incantation

Many poems use repeated lines to create rhythm, obsession, or spiraling thought.

B. Blending of innocence and darkness

Cute images (pumpkins, rabbits, flowers) often sit beside death, madness, or despair.

C. Myth + modernity

Ancient gods appear next to cars, clubs, alcohol, and technology.

D. Emotional sincerity wrapped in surreal imagery

 

Even the strangest poems feel emotionally grounded.

 

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 The Big Picture: What the Poetry Is “About”

 

Taken together, this collection is about:

• The search for meaning in love and loss

• Escaping into fantasy when reality becomes unbearable

• The tension between innocence and corruption

• The surreal ways the mind copes with pain

• The beauty and terror of existence

• The cycles of longing, despair, reflection, and rebirth

 

It reads like the inner life of someone who feels deeply, dreams vividly, and processes the world through mythic and symbolic language.

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- Jeff Galven, 2026

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