Gentle Hope

I look at you sitting across the room

And I cannot believe that I was so fortunate

To have someone like you who would

Be in love with me.

I wonder at the uniqueness our love holds

And I worry that someday,

You or I will be gone and the other will

Gasp at the pain and groan at the loneliness.

I am sure I will cry at various moments,

That will often be unpredictable in their appearance.

When I am reminded of your being lost to me,

Never to warm my bed again.

Those that say they know that there is a forever

Do so with great hope.

For me knowing is not so easy and pondering

Brings very little comfort.

As long as humanity's been able to love

We’ve spoken of it in stories 'round hearths

And whispered while entwined in our dreams,

We hope against the truth that we witness in life.

How could one look at their beloved

And not hope for eternity?

Why wouldn’t lovers long to have

Their joys unending?

Who wouldn’t want to recall

Life’s tender treasures enjoyed together,

The pleasant walks spent talking and laughing,

To forgive a trespass and not hold a grudge?

The truth alone can make life too difficult. 

It would become impossible to get up and go on

Without a sense of hope because we know,

Life always ends badly…

Life’s truths are too harsh.

And its end is too certain.

Truth must be taken in small portions

Or it will break your heart.

Not knowing for certain is a safe place to be.

It is a place for hope to spring up and to grow.

For love is a truth that is as real as a rock,

Feelings trump reason more often than not.

I’d rather have truth in manageable portions

I need the comfort that hope can bring.

I need to be with people I love because this is what

Brings real comfort and allows me to go on.

So, I live for today with all that I’ve got.

As I grow older I know that “for better or worse”

Is no longer an ephemeral promise given by eager lovers,

It now becomes a sacrament to worship at your sick bed.

I’ll not give away today following uncertain promises of tomorrow,

I want to be present and partake of your sorrow.

We can let our hope for forever rob us of today

And those to whom we’ve promised are lost along the way.

Hope is a cruel instrument when it’s wielded by men,

We give away so much for the promise of tomorrow.

If forever is there at the end of our lives,

Our love will be there too and that hope will be fulfilled.

If our souls and love are eternal,

Then how could you believe a capricious God

Would be worthy of worship if He denies

His own children the opportunity to experience love?