I’ve abandoned
Every last friend
From the fact this pain
Keeps persisting
With each passing year
Spent neglecting
What solemn divide
Merely grows

As holidays come
Only once
Reminding how time
Pushes roughly
Against our attempts
At such happiness
Squandered by trying
Too hard

When phone calls last
Many minutes
But visits seem sad
After seconds
Feeling their lives
Appear better
And yours truly dull
If compared

While suffering still
In that place
Wearing monitors
Catching those rhythms
Reflecting my heart
Truly broken
Like insides torn
Losing faith

Grieving yesterdays
Never much loved
Though hindsight twists
Certain moments
Since memories mold
Around wishes
Connections will shape
Seeking hope

Yet finding relief
Doesn’t last
Or stem from meals
Shared together
But hardens with age
Learning peacefulness
Means silently waiting
For death.

• J. Pigno