All Promise Gone

For the lack of one letter,
  the word could not form

For the lack of one word,
  the entire sentence was wrong

For the lack of one sentence,
  the paragraph went astray

For the lack of one paragraph,
  the page lay undone

For the lack of one page,
  the chapter could not end

For the lack of one chapter,
  the book was now lost

For the lack of one book,
  its message unwritten

For the lack of one book
  —all promise was gone

(Villanova Pennsylvania: June, 2014)