There is no
Human affliction
That a loving heart
Can’t save
From chains
Of thankless suffering
Or bondage tied
With dread

Like chairs
Which have us fixed
To the ground whose dreams
Keep moving
Though legs
Are hardly needed
For escaping
What stays clinched

If fear
Takes second place
When falling down
Means standing
And flying high
Has purpose
Just inches
Off this dirt

Despite how eyes
May stare
Where crowds alone
Will gather
To admonish those
Whose triumph
Is one foot
Out their door

Or fingers
Pressing keys
So speaking clear
Can manage
What thoughts
They long to translate
By freedoms
Within grasp

Abiding loss
Through trust
Obliging hurt
While learning
All hope
Is sheer persistence
In achieving
Purest faith-

Teaching lives
They cross
Yet touch
Without us knowing
Their gifts
Have lifted angels
And conquered
Demons whole

Beyond
Such burdened means
Like baggage
Sitting heavy
On the backs
Of sainted neighbors
Revealing God
Next door.

– J. Pigno