I long to find God
In the subtext
Of a sea
With ill-fated vessels

On this bay
Where missing departures
Mean each voyage
Will rarely return,

From those ocean shelves
Growing steeper
As they further sail
Far beyond them

Toward shimmering depths
Never witnessed
But until that ship
Always sinks –

Still below what blue
Merely beckons
If such wayward keels
Fail intently

When revealing faith
Barely navigates
Every jagged wharf
Facing waves,

Wading starless nights
Over shorelines
Across building sands
Nearing jetties

Like lighthouse dreams
Losing beacons
After traveling life
Long enough.

My celestial coast
Remains buoyant
Despite treading fears
Pulling tightly,

Since drowning hulls
Create undertows
Even Christ Himself
Can’t escape –

Those beliefs
Soon heavenly roped
Beneath peering masts
Seeking beaches

One single knot
Claims assurance
How Salvation’s wreck
Clutches hope.

• J. Pigno