Only artistry
Offers me rain
In the hours between
Each expression

Soon lagging behind
Every moment
Where suffering speaks
Louder still

On that poetry lost
Trying hard
Which captures defeat
After waiting

For one more chance
Spent debating
If pursuing this dream
Remains wise

With those options
Doubting will bring
Against all odds
Seeming senseless,

When endurance
Means uttering phrases
Experience deems
Too unwise –

Growing bored
From facing their fears,
Merely chasing truths
Trailing teardrops,

Spilled by empty hearts
Seeking verses
Finding empty lines
Needing blood

Like sustenance
Pumped through belief
And fueled by hope
Leading charges

As cavalries march
Across wastelands
Now warring so much
They can’t feel.

I keep begging
These skies inside
Just bring one cloud
Dripping crimson –

My soul left parched
Missing substance
Under faithless suns
Causing droughts.

• J. Pigno