National Poetry Month Challenge - Day 22

Today's prompt was to write either an optimistic poem or a pessimistic poem (or a mixture of both). I'm surprised that I haven't resorted to reciting the phone book, now that I've been writing and posting a poem a day for 22 days!

You're in luck.  I'm still coherent and persistent enough to keep writing.  If nothing else - I always have hope.


If Hope Were a Beetle

We are all born with hope.
It sits in the palm of the hand -
a spinning black beetle -
tiny legs turning like wheels. 

Our hope scurries -
it flees enclosure -
it hides from cloying fingers. 

Hope spins in circles,
seeking shelter,
memorizing every line of the palm -
your map of self talk. 

I am not worthy. 
I don't think I can finish this. 
I've never done this before,
but I hope I will. 

I hope. 
I hope.
I hope. 

Cristina M. R. Norcross
Copyright 2014