Poem: Hope Thins

This is one of mine:

At times the hope thins
No longer buoyant
Supportive
It swirls in vapors
You grasp at it
Falling
It's all you have left
Reaching out for any wisp of it
Shadow of it
For it is strong
And if you could but catch just a little bit of it
The smallest bit
It could support your weight
And the weight upon you
For it is strong
Hope
You could climb back up
And out
If you could catch it

"Dear God," she prayed, "let me be something every minute of every hour of my life. Let me be gay; let me be sad. Let me be cold; let me be warm. Let me be hungry...have too much to eat. Let me be ragged or well dressed. Let me be sincere-be deceitful. Let me be truthful; let me be a liar. Let me be honorable and let me sin. Only let me be something ever blessed minute. And when I sleep, let me dream all the time so that not one little piece of living is ever lost."

-Frances Nolan
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
by Betty Smith