My Life is a Desert

My Life is a Desert

My life is a desert. Big and brown and empty.

A chill wind blows sand across my heart,

       burying it forever.

Cactus needles pierce my feet and hands,

       making the blood flow red.

I place the Crown of Thorns upon my head.

Broken and bent, I ascend the Cross.

Hanging like rotten fruit from a dead tree,

I gaze across the barren landscape and cry,

"My God! My God! Why have You forsaken me?"

Published on Masticadores USA on March 21, 2022.

Dawn Pisturino

January 30, 2020; March 21, 2022

Copyright 2020-2022 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.

SEPARATION

by Dawn Pisturino

Across the void of outer space

I reach for you

Calling your name

But emptiness answers

Cold and black

Stars stare icily

The old moon glows

And all the wonders of the universe

Should be ours forever

But our spirits soar to opposite ends

And all is hopelessly lost

Written for Stephen, June 13, 1988

Published in "American Poetry Anthology," 1988

Copyright 2011 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.