I’m forgetting
How to exist
With each word
That’s left unspoken
From this child
Held within me
Like these poems
Losing voice

And their phrases
Missing breath
Through such lines
Of broken rhythms
Skipping beats
Which have no pattern
By some meaning
Unresolved

In a heartbeat
Said with ink
Telling lies
I’m still believing
Building walls
Around my answers
Deep inside
This splintered lung

Taking air
That soon escapes
Seeking terms
On fleeting currents
Hasty drafts
And fading seasons
Where these gusts
Are empty winds

Holding fate
Like blowing leaves
Chasing gales
Of days expired
From old times
I keep forgetting
Out of innocence
Sullied quick

Beyond pasts
Which linger slow
Over lengths
Sustained indifferent
To what dreams
My soul aspires
Gasping hard
For blessed death

Trailing close
Each uttered verse
Far behind
Our God awaiting
Whom he’s gifted
Free expression
Riding coattails
Of their work

Failing life
By gaining faith
Finding truths
Among my demons
Making mountains
Out of molehills
Writing prayers
That won’t convince.

– J. Pigno