Perfect Recall

By Robert Pegel

I told my brain
I need you to remember.
From now on
you can’t forget a thing.
Sound, sight, mind
lock yourself in.
Remember every nuance.
Hear laughter,
recall the exact sound
of your voice.
You’re all I’ve got now.

 

No time for panic
or anxiety attacks.
We know
they don’t help a thing.
Mind
you’re all that’s left.
Sharpen or I lose all I cherish.
It’s a lonely path without you.
Worse than I could imagine.
Can’t give up.
It’s not what you would’ve wanted.
Keep my senses acute.
My wits astute.
Refine my best
and discard the rest.

 

Life’s tragedy
will not destroy me.
I’ll counter with unknown resolve
I never knew I had.
This world is close to impossible
but it’s not quite hell.
I refuse to be washed
away with the tidal wave.

My imagination runs wild.
I now see you
riding shotgun
in the seat beside me
in my car
cruising down the highway.
I feel your presence.
It’s great to have you
along for the ride.
Just like old times.

 

Robert Pegel from US writes poetry to make sense of the unimaginable. Robert graduated from Columbia University in New York City where he majored in English. He has been published in Trouvaille Review, The Remington Review, The Pangolin Review, As Above So Below, Lothlorien Poetry, Grand Little Things, Ariel Chart, Unique Poetry, Bluepepper, Goat's Milk, A New Ulster, The Madrigal and others. He has work forthcoming in Resurrection Magazine, Mason Street, and North Dakota Quarterly. Robert lives in Andover, NJ, USA with his wife, Zulma.