Plea for Persistence

Wait and begin again,
wait and begin again,
there is more to learn
than a hump for the spasm,
a pull for the bell,
a drink for salvation,
no church gives comfort
for the ransacked years
dumped in the ragbag of the past.
Trees bear blossoms each spring
even though the petals wither,
and who gathers the brown shreds
to keep memory green? Aw-w, memory,
grains of sand in an old shoe.
I tell you, strike home
no matter if the target blurs
or the gun wobbles. It is too late
when you doubt the strength
of your day’s muscle. Take it,
take what comes, even windfalls,
even a blowsy romp in autumn lest
like Solomon, you got no heat.