Hope- sharing my poems, Emily Dickinson, and James Crews

I hung hope out with the laundry,

clothes-pinned tenderly beside a pillowcase

and two sheets.
I could tell she needed air ~

a sweet puff of wind.
She needed to get warm again
basking in the sun.

After a few hours,
I came out with my basket and took her down.
We both felt refreshed.

She said, "Don't put me in the closet with the sheets.
Spread me on your table.
Let your guests spill their wine and crumbs of bread.

Wash me gently; put me back in the sun.

Lay me across your bed

so I may warm you in the night.
Or put me on the children's bed

that I might comfort their dreams.

Whatever you do," she said,

"include me.
It is the only way that I can live."

~Ingrid Goff-Maidoff
from the book, What Holds Us

Hope,

you lovely songbird,

nestled in the heart,

please sing now,

whistle and sing-

let us know that

you're still here.

~Ingrid Goff-Maidoff

from the book, WILD SONG

HOPE IS A THING WITH FEATHERS

by Emily Dickinson

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.

~Emily Dickinson

I Keep My Hope,

by James Crews

Some have tossed out their hope

on the roadside, like an old

takeout container, or the cellophane

from a pack of cigarettes. I too

want to throw it out the window

at times, when the shadow of despair

follows too close, and I can find

no air. Still, I keep my hope lit

like a stubborn candle, and see

by each flicker the faces of others

gathered here in pain. I hold the flame

up high, even as the world

tries and tries to blow it out.

~James Crews

James Crews is the author of Unlocking the Heart: Writing for Mindfulness, Courage & Self-Compassion, and editor of several bestselling poetry anthologies, including Love Is for All of Us, a collection of LGBTQ+ love poems. He is also the author of four poetry collections and lives in Southern Vermont with his husband. For more info: www.jamescrews.net