by Jeffrey Essmann

Somewhere along the way of penitence, 
Of rueful self-reflection and regret,
A subtle disconnectedness commenced
Beyond what my own graces might beget.
A disconnect from sin, of course, and yet
Some other severing closer to the bone;
Some loosening of all boundaries that I’d set
That left me filled with light but all alone.
And I don’t know quite how to set the tone
As now unmoored, I hover here amid
The swirl of life I’d come to call my own
But realize now it’s come to me unbid.
It’s burst upon me like an unknown song
Whose melody I’ve known yet all along. 

Jeffrey Essmann is an essayist and poet living in New York. His poetry has appeared in numerous magazines and literary journals, among them America Magazine, Dappled Things, the St. Austin Review, U.S. Catholic, Grand Little Things and various venues of the Benedictine monastery with which he is an oblate. He is editor of the Catholic Poetry Room page on the Integrated Catholic Life website.