J.B. Hogan’s most recent poem to appear here was “Are You Satisfied” (April 2020).
Nothing
By J.B. Hogan
What was it for—the pain and
sacrifice, hunger, work,
dreams?
What was it for—the cruelty and
innuendo, harsh judgments of the
self-righteous?
What was it for—the years of devotion and
self-denial, never giving in, never accepting
failure?
And what was it for—the work, the love, the
struggle? For
what?
Same beginning, same story, same result—
nothing left at end,
nothing left that mattered,
nothing left behind,
nothing left at all,
nothing.
Heatfelt.