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

I could tell she needed air ~
She needed to get warm again
basking in the sun.
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
Or put me on the children's bed
Whatever you do," she said,
It is the only way that I can live."
from the book, What Holds Us


That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.
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