hope

(written Sunday)

Yesterday was rough!

So I remind myself

the next day's often better.

It is, so far!

I like the way that works.

Some days, they dig right in.

You wait. It abates.

If you're strong, they make you laugh.

"The funky Solzhenitsyn"

still can make me chuckle.

But this is serious.

So you remember:

When you're weak,

the smiles turn to sneers.

The knives come out

and your protection is hope.

I've found that hope is useful.

It gives you forward movement,

a forward-looking outlook,

a positive direction

that can be undefeatable.

I have that gift.

And I only need more of it,

always more.

In the short term, my hope:

"Faut-il qu'il m'en souvienne

la joie venait toujour apres la peine."

-Apollinaire (Le pont Mirabeau)