I’m on my way
Towards an end
No God who cares
Would appreciate

When our demons help
Bitter heavens
Ensure that hell
Here and now –

Easy suffering
Forced to comply
Despite what love
Appears selfish

Or feeble attempts
At escaping
By resisting sins
Swallowed whole

In acts of fear
Bottles hold
With pills like dreams
Counted daily

Through another dose
Seeking some solace
But fleetingly felt
Wearing off,

Where failure learns
Nothing lasts
Seeing agony beg
Certain devils

For one more chance
Worth redeeming
Before learning fate
Isn’t real

When dying again
Every night
Implies waking still
Being empty

Knowing hope itself
Cannot heal us
Only kill
What’s already dead.

Yes, perhaps
Arriving on time
Means avoiding pain
Any further,

Since enduring life
Never mattered
If breathing less
While aware.

• J. Pigno