Author: Jacob Roggensack

it remains

it keeps knocking,
begging to come in
and introduce itself.

introduce itself as peace,
as a new way to sing
in a world of silence.

silence that echoes
through the halls,
numbing to the mind.

numbness that will disappear,
but never stay quite gone
as the roof begins to crack.

the cracks scatter
and foundation cries,
unable to withstand the weight.

the weight of it all,
crashing down with force,
leaving only the door.

the door,
in which the knocking
continues.

🍂

the air grows cooler,
fresh against my skin,
carrying the scent of change.

the sun bows earlier now,
painting the sky in calm golds and reds
as leaves do the same to the ground.

the days feel slower,
even easier-
like the world is learning to breathe again,
and so am i.

peace settles in softly,
not loud or sudden,
just steady,
like it finally found its way home.

remember me.

this world shelters many,
offering warmth to the lost.

i try the same-
to give the forgotten
a place to rest,
to breathe,
to rise again.

i search the chaos
for what’s gone missing:
a smile, a pulse,
a reason to stay.

i’ll find it for you,
because you deserve to feel whole.
and when you leave-
as you should-
just remember me
as the quiet place
that held you once.

that is my purpose:
to help
until i fade.

📉

my heart will never beat the same,
stopping where your name used to live.
the air no longer fills my lungs,
it just sits-
thin, uncertain,
like it’s afraid to stay.

the sun still rises,
but it doesn’t warm me completely.
music still plays,
but every note falls off.

the world moves forward,
and i still follow,
half-awake, half-gone,
trying to remember
what it felt like
to be whole.

my time will come
where i can take off the layers
and feel the love
of the life that i deserve.

at the edge

i stood at the edge,
the wind tasting of salt and freedom,
the drop and the silence below
calling themselves peace.

i used to think that falling
was the only way to stop from breaking,
that the world would understand
why the air didn’t catch me.

my toes curled over stone,
the ocean marking my target
as i took a deep breath in,
bracing for the shove.

but it never came.

the horizon sang
with a beauty and hum
i will never forget-
the sky golden and alive
as i opened my eyes.

my ache is still here,
but it beats with my heart-
asking me to stay.

i took my step back,
not in fear,
but in wonder
at how much more there is to live for.

🤖

rusted gears grinding
as the body fell apart,
forcing itself to push
without any strength.

sparks caught,
oil spilled,
rhythm ruined by the stutter,
but the machine still had some life.

in the quiet hours one day,
a soft click took place-
a slow whir
as the heart found its beat.

the pulse has returned,
running with a smoothness
it has not had in years.
still scratched, still scarred,
but humming-
a machine that remembers breaking
and still tracks time beautifully.