How many useless things
have these hands done
in the time when there
was so much more to give
so much more this world
needed from each
curl of a finger
every expended energy
gone to waste

Who cried for this
and how was it
so long those cries
went unheard
angels in the ocean
lost upon the shore
angels in the ashtray
another night stubbed away

[Prompt 2: How do we share yearnings when we cannot speak of them? For additional context and inspiration you can listen to Leonard Cohen’s song “Take this Longing”.]