Hope dangles just out of reach but always in clear view

encouraging us to run in place until we die, and so, we do.

Look at us

rodents racing

chasing tails

gnawing on

arsenic-laced

success.

How fancy!

Sprinting faster

circling nowhere

on a looped track

leading us back

to start again.

But it's all about that journey, right?

Hope

is a charcuterie board

with a torsion spring,

and we wash it all down

with sour curds

from “farm-raised” teats

the size of smokestacks.

What was once

good for your bones

now may cross them.

So, bottoms up and Bon Appetit!

It seems

we’ll all die early

having forgotten

to think for ourselves

because

we left our

anticoagulated

minds back

in elementary.

A lesson never learned

as a new litter is born every

two-hundred seventy days

and with every new wave,

heeded warnings

turn into echoes

of older mice

choking through foam

already too far gone

to realize hope was an illusion—

they never had a chance anyways.

Hope internal is

Hope denied

Hope unsaid is

Hope aside

Hope you get is

Hope as yet

Hope you don't is

Hope beset

Hope is a feeling of trust.

That's one of the main definitions of hope, anyway.

But hope could also mean looking forward to waking up the next day

even though tomorrow isn't always promised

and even though there will always be a voice in the back of my head, whispering out, Thank God tomorrow isn't always promised.

Hope could also mean wanting to crawl out of your darkness

after years and decades of being trapped without a dim light

after years of fear holding you back from searching

for a way out

Hope doesn't always have to mean being optimistic all the time.

Hope can also have uncertainly between the lines.

Maybe you might be uncertain about the future.

And yet - you stay hopeful because you want things to end with a happy ending

but really, that happy ending isn't guaranteed all the time.

Hope is feeling upbeat.

Hope is feeling bittersweet.

Hope is feeling like there is a way out.

Hope is no longer feeling alone.

Hope is after feeling hopeless.

Hope is realization

knowing that things

wouldn't be so bad after all.

because at the end of the day,

it will end.

Hope may also have melancholic aspects.

Hope may drive you to hopelessness again.

Hope may get you stuck back into the deserted island.

Hope may drive you to an endless loop, with no shortcuts.

Hope isn't a linear graph.

Hope has its ups and its down, and its loops, like a rollercoaster.

Hope may make you realize that you've been circling in the same path and it would be up to you to get out of it.

And hope could make you desire new beginnings

despite all the damage left behind.

Hope is building a garden for yourself to attract butterflies.

Hope is desiring for butterflies to come to your garden.

But when the butterflies don't show up in your garden,

hopelessness spirals around.

But that didn't matter.

because at least you have a beautiful garden.

Hope is catching fireflies in a jar,

but resentment catches you first

because the fireflies wouldn't budge to trap itself inside.

and after you end up with only one firefly in a jar

jealous rushes over your body.

everyone else had at least five or more.

but you still smiled, regardless

because at least you caught one firefly.

it still gave you a little bit of hope to catch more.

Maybe hope isn't always how people imagine it

maybe hope isn't always permanent

maybe hope won't be forever

but at the end of the day

Hope is every feeling at once.

And hope will eventually chase you to the light.

one day.

Hope is that belief

we cling to

whether we walk in joy or grief

it is ever present in me and you

Whether you own up to it or not

even the most jaded

turns to it for it is something we have all got

Hoping for better is always clear, present and never faded

It is a light that shines bright

in darkest of times

it is an anchor that secures us upright

it sees us through so many dangerous waves where nothing has reasons nor rhymes

We are rooted in hope

it runs through our veins

It allows us to cope

through all of our pains

We hold hope for peace

We hold hope for health

We hold hope for a better world

We hold hope for all to find their place at the table.

Imagining creates X,

Emoting chemically becomes;

Willing begets action,

Dreaming logically awakens;

All that we are pivots here;

Existence hinges on Hope.

. . . i s

p o o r

m a n' s

d o p e .

09.21.2023

What's Hope? @Pagesfragensage

Hope floats across the universe and settles into the soul,

Whispering encouraging words when much else fails.

Hope begins, born in the depths of longing and need,

Stemming from belief that prevails.

Hope encourages, motivates, and lifts

It is able to move mountains - it is a divine gift.

Hope is heartening for the downcast,

An elemental force which exists to bring

A growing force of will to one's heart

Like the first blossoms in spring.

Hope sustains the weak, reinforces the tough,

Instilling a belief we can go forward

Even in times that are dismal and rough.

Hope resonates through thick and thin,

Whether it be the size of a boulder

Or the size of the tiniest pin.

Hope remains an integral part

In the depths of our heart

As we clutch it close

Hoping for what we want most.

Hope is essential, it must be in our midst

To keep us from faltering lest we cease to exist.

Hope is to live and persist.

I carved you out of ashes

of stone, your heart a rising

phoenix, burning hot

your soul’s summer rain

glistens like crimson roses

your skin like spun silk

your voice like strong words

individuality

a gift you always

wanted, something I

never considered in your

final creation

now I hope you’re well

seasons passed since you left me

begging your return

Trying to find the words

Yet they are not mine

And so I go on

With no reason for it

For I have found no little faith

And if I should say that I have

Don't believe it

And if I should say that I have not

Close my mouth

For I have wandered where I should not

And said what was not mine to say

Because behind the claps and fake bravado

I'm trying to find something

Something that I was

And maybe something that someone else is too

But how will I know

Unless I ask

But that I will not do