Image: Unsplash, downloaded (https://unsplash.com/photos/hbxSP2Dgt8s) 28.11.2021.
Days of Longing
Be still
in the eye of the storm
when everything goes wrong
continue and just be.
Never is easy.
We don’t get to decide
how long the ride.
Go to bed one night
never wake the next day.
Don’t attach to this life.
Never asked to be born
so why be afraid to die
when it’s as natural as breathing?
Who knows what season
we will start or end in.
Know?
No.
I don’t know anything.
Of this I am sure.
Stuck in the middle of a dream
hoping that someone will appear
at the final hour
and save the day.
Until that time
mind and body
please serve me well.
World weary days seem
to last forever.
Only so much
a heart can withstand.
Graceful Flight
Nature in harmony is proof of God.
Let your energy run through me.
Help to galvanize me.
Souls collide
in a celestial space.
Life and all its troubles
are a permanent part
of the puzzle.
Am I going down the path
that leads to understanding?
If not, reverse course
and set out again.
And again.
Fly gracefully
like I belong in the sky.
Last beyond
a cold indifferent world.
Stay in the moment
and celebrate a special life lived
on unfair terms.
Adapt to the circumstance.
Endure the weather.
Rest easy.
One day we will fly together.
Irrepressible spirits
Where nothing life
sends is overwhelming.
Just another emotional wave
to ride to shore.
Light as a Feather
I know you can see me
even though I can’t see you.
There’s a bond unbreakable
and a love unshakable
forevermore.
In my mind’s eye
I feel something bigger
than this world
is happening.
Hard to hold on
to this feeling constantly
in the face of the unknown.
Take a leap of faith
even if I land in the rabbit hole
of short-term doubt.
Keep moving forward trying
not to get lost in my mind.
Devotedly searching for
a peace out there somewhere
waiting to be had.
And though I push in the
right direction it remains
elusively out of reach.
All the longing doesn’t
bring it closer.
If thoughts of love
could move mountains
I’d wish you back here
standing next to me
and all would be fine in
the world again.
If only we could rule space
and time.
Faith isn’t light.
Survival isn’t easy.
Living without you
is more than I am able
to do at times.
Wish I were weightless
with the next gust of wind
I could float away
high above the clouds.
Never to be seen from
in the same form again.
Out of Body
The release is really happening.
Now float.
Just relax and accept it.
High above it all.
Even my own body.
Amazingly, like I’m a hot
air balloon.
Watch myself
from outside myself.
Never imagined death
could be like this.
So natural.
No fear at all.
Something powerful appeared
out of nowhere.
Peace and quiet.
Darkness then
immediate light.
Gentle guiding.
Just another movement forward
gradually lifting up
and disappearing in the
cotton clouds.
Jettisoning my lifeless body.
No need for it anymore.
It served its purpose.
Now it’s time to move on.
One level at a time.
Renewal
Nothing matters
don’t fool yourself
into believing that it does
all merely a distraction
from what’s at the
heart of it all
free fall into the abyss
never to be seen
in the same form again
sprout wings and come alive
within the adventure
now there is new meaning
circling back to hope
and renewal
destiny is your
newfound friend
embrace the miracle
of the moment
you can transcend
the pain of it all.
About the Author: Robert Pegel is a husband and father whose only child died in 2016. Calvin was just 16 and died in his sleep of unknown causes. Robert writes to process the unimaginable and to try and connect this world and the afterlife. He also finds writing is a therapeutic outlet where creating brings him a sense of transformation. Robert graduated from Columbia University where he majored in English. He has been published in The Madrigal, The Remington Review, Trouvaille Review, A New Ulster, Goat’s Milk, The Pangolin Review, Bluepepper, The Galway Review, Ariel Chart, Grand Little Things and others. He has work forthcoming in 433 Magazine, Resurrection Magazine, North Dakota Quarterly and Mason Street. Robert lives in Andover, NJ USA with his wife Zulma and their Min Pin, dog Chewy.
