Hope

I cannot afford for hope to be the attractive flourishes that counteract my occasional doubt. It must be sturdy, dependable, wholly realized--and hard won. The difference between the two is like using ballet slippers when you really need a good pair of rain boots: you start out thinking you can plie your way past a little problem and end up heel-to-knee in crap. Better to start out knowing what you're in for and dress accordingly. Unfortunately, this type of hope is only obtained by use, so don't expect it to show up if you aren't willing to take the risks necessary to gain it. And once you have it, it must be aired: tell others there is reason to have hope and encourage it in them. If kept under wraps, hope suffocates quickly.

-s


Hope

Hope be not a flimsy thing
Hanging by some tender string
A gilded but temporal dream
Suspended o'er a pit

But Hope be shining sword at hip
Torch as close as fingertip
Buccaneer with curling lip
In face of fiery dragon

Hope be truly only such
If borne in trembling maiden's touch
Beneath her bosom firmly clutched
And lending her more valor

For had she not its shape in hand
There would not be the strength to stand
And firmly thus, much can withstand
Though Fear still bloom nearby