We ruin our lives
With regret
Since pursuing
Supposed forgiveness
From the pain which
Promises nothing
When grace
Is purely received,

Never gained
But already earned
If belief means
Suffering greatly
After failures’s faced
Become mountains
Moved by faith
Now instead –

These tethered hands
Always forced
Until that day
We are sorry
After learning God
Doesn’t bargain
But provides free gifts
Unlike us.

Effort itself
Cannot change
This weakened flesh
Making choices
Towards sinful work
Merely dreaming
Of transient hope
Built through hurt –

Moments lost
In their riches
Like memories found
Seeking penance
Beneath each wrong
Weighing heavy
Until those souls
Truly grieve

What family formed
Throwing stones
Where honest love
Stood neglected
Over years spent
Praying on empty
Wishing money
Might fill them again.

Redemption speaks
Under stress
Between bad days
Finding chances
Offering threats
Hardly worthy
At rejecting
Heaven’s approach –

Steadying hands
Steering fate
So determined
No one would notice
How human flaws
Shape existence
Still learning mistakes
Never miss.

• J. Pigno