God’s Plan
We are all on the same path.
Some of us will get there sooner than others.
Don’t let your mind be troubled.
You will be stuck in a mystery.
For as long as your eyes can see,
your heart beats,
and until your last breath.
Turn inward.
Look for messages along the road.
Don’t curse your destiny.
Even if it is foretold.
Ask for strength.
Pray for peace of mind.
Love.
Light.
Divine energy.
You are spirit after all.
Dwell in being.
Surrender your old ways
of understanding.
Put on the new.
Even if it seems not to fit.
You were born for a reason.
Worry no more.
God’s armor will shield you,
from the pain and suffering
of this world.
Cemetery Chatter
It’s time now.
Get clear.
Get clean.
See the wondrous order of it all.
The sparrow chirps.
perched on the tip
of a pine tree.
Still.
Lingering long in the background.
Hearing our conversation.
Between father and son.
A perfect portrait in nature.
Reminding of life’s connection.
We are one.
Part of a whole.
The sun streaks in and out
of the clouds.
Release the pain
locked in.
Set it free.
The honeysuckle breeze blows.
The mind flows,
with thoughts of hope.
Moving forward.
One step a time.
In a universe blind.
Focus on healing.
The broken heart feels lost.
The knowing soul
will somehow lead the way home
Point of View
Lives changed forever.
Tragedy can’t be undone.
Who will heal my bleeding heart?
Time is a fickle friend.
I was born to believe
in the heaven within.
There is no straight line to follow.
No spiritual guide to beckon.
Need to watch myself,
from outside myself.
It’s a technique for a master,
much further along than me.
Vision changing.
It can be no other way.
Death is a reward.
We must dry our tears.
The test is over.
When does the road home begin?
Show the light of tomorrow.
Today.
Why are we locked in mystery?
Faith flickers
but is never extinguished.
Yet something troubles.
An ambivalent aura surrounds us.
Too much to process.
Love should be more obvious.
Unhidden.
No need for translation.
Some give up,
frustrated by your prolonged absence.
I intend to last.
Here to finish the mission.
Beaten and battered,
But never broken.
Reluctantly ready,
for whatever is next.
Soon in the Future
I’d give anything
to be where you are.
But I guess it’s not meant to be
right now.
You were great then.
You amaze me now.
You’ve done it.
Lifted the veil.
So young
yet so wise.
Nothing’s changed.
Except the spirit rises.
Leaving those left behind
to suffer and wonder.
My mind must do so much more
than it’s ever done before.
Move across levels.
Recognize the signs.
My will must do so much less
than it’s ever done before.
Surrender to the mystery.
It’s not for me to understand.
And in the end,
I feel so close to you.
Walking every step with you.
Not afraid of death.
I welcome it on my day.
The longing finally over.
At last.
I will see you again.
Hopeful Nihilism
Lifelessly longing to live
on the next level.
Where spirits sparkle
like shooting stars
in the sky.
The humming drone sounds,
as if it’s moving closer.
What does it matter?
It will just annoy us.
Overwhelm us.
It matters less,
what happens next.
Everything is nothing.
Anywhere and everywhere
the same in the end.
Merely space we fill for now.
Attach purpose to your days,
if you choose to do so.
If that helps them to pass with less.
Anxiety.
Fear.
Anger.
Depression.
We know not
where we are going.
But we are all along
for the ride.
Don’t take it on alone.
When misery loves company,
there is joy in compassion.
Don’t take it on alone.
We will all find our way home.
Or get lost
hopelessly trying.
Robert Pegel is a father and husband whose only child, his son Calvin, died four years ago. Robert began writing poetry in an effort to transform his pain and try to make sense of the unimaginable. He hopes he might help others suffering from loss and grief and that they may see how poetry can help process pain. Robert graduated from Columbia University where he was an English major. He has only recently begun submitting his poems and has been published by the Unique Poetry Journal.