hope is a whisper
in the darkness of disaster
brilliant in unimaginable ways
persistent and undaunted
when humanity is tossed within the morass that evil fosters

hope seems always
to reappear stronger, bolder
outcome notwithstanding
what must be two sides to a coin
balanced on a minted edge like a thousand others

hope is a scream in a flash of history
an instant of bone shearing madness
that one must reconcile somehow
fragments of our innocence falling around us

hope is a bastion of courage
taunted by travail
goaded into action
beyond any fear any thought any course
that otherwise would seem more rational