No hero
Should run and hide
When the villain
Becomes their shadow
But engage
Those reflected demons
To translate fear
Into hope

As they shape
What legends believe
All worthy change
Isn’t judgment
When mirrors break
Throwing punches
Likes stones we cast
Fighting back –

Each shattered piece
Cutting deep
So every scar
Provides reasons
For claiming hate
Without purpose
Or drawing lines
Between friends,

Worried peace
Means dreaming alone
While surrounded now
By accusers
Whose obvious threat
Peddles justice
Through riotous words
Left unchecked.

How such ignorance
Carries out crimes
More than hearsay
Buries our innocence
Since sinfulness
Echoing arrogance
Chisels gravestones
Gaining applause –

These monuments
Most will forget
Yet eternally cast
Upon victims
Over nothing
Obscuring importance
Behind faces
Listening less.

This world needs art
That ignores
Such countless lives
Keeping silent,
Proving valiance
Spoken expression
Which dares defy
Every risk

Most poets learn
Donning capes
Sporting phrases
Dangerously honest –
Tempting failures
Only forgiven
If God Himself
Offers strength.

• J. Pigno