Mental Block

[flowerburgers]

It started with dread and finished with embarrassment. (I wonder if this line could be somehow condensed or made more poetic? It reads like prose to me. All my poetry reads like prose, so I know the trouble!)
There was nothing to blame except the scratchy 
sponge resting in my skull. (I love "the scratchy / sponge resting in my skull")

Grace was given and exceptions made,
but there it was, the final hour,
and what had been achieved? (Not sure what's going on in this stanza)

The church bells tolled,
one after the other.
The cigarette burned,
down to the stub. (Really nice, concrete images) 
Time had 
run 
out. (The line breaks in the last three lines feel a little heavy-handed)

Some really great images in this piece. I think you could aim for greater clarity, but you're off to a good start.