Scripture scribed by hands of man from words
of God create a dichotomy between fact and fiction
Bookshelves are stacked with translation of history
and social media is a fuse of doubtful hesitation,

where the truth is questionable

Growing up, a bronze crucifix hung from the wall
above saintly statues lined across the mantle
atop flames of contradiction

I learned to believe in a great presence
who knows more than is imaginable
who understands the behavior of black sheep
but doesn’t judge by the color of their fleece

My moral compass spun incessantly past
mistakes ignored until I stood before my father,
the second hand of his wristwatch still,
and arms folded with a face of forgiveness

It was then my second hand began to spin
around choices from shadows of life
where danger is everywhere disguised from the truth

I want something to believe;
something like childhood memories of the Catskills

I want to walk with his spirit through wild fields
of meadow grass before the rooster crows
in the face of new beginnings

Robert J. Savino is a poet from West Islip, New York, and served as Suffolk County Poet Laureate from 2015 to 2017. He is a board member at both the Walt Whitman Birthplace and the Long Island Poetry & Arts Archival Center. His work has appeared widely in journals and anthologies, including Long Island Haunts (Local Gems Press, 2023), Twin Towers – Twin Decades (Local Gems Press, 2021), and Poets to Come – Walt Whitman Bicentennial (Local Gems Press, 2019). Savino is the author of several books and chapbooks, among them No Distance Between Us – Italian American Poets of Long Island (Local Gems Poetry Press, 2017) and Inside a Turtle Shell (Allbook Books, 2009). His poetry has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Oberon Poetry Prize in 2008, and continues to celebrate the rich literary traditions of Long Island while engaging with themes of heritage, resilience, and community.