The Hunt for Hope

I’ve loved and lost and paid the cost

And hope’s been hard to find.

I’ve known success, been cursed and blessed-

A prisoner of my mind.

I’ve hunted hope unceasingly

And learned along the way-

It’s rarely gotten peacefully,

And never in a day.

I’ve heard it said and said myself-

Good things don’t come with ease.

Hope can’t be bought from someone else,

It’s earned in small degrees.

I’ve sought for hope in many places,

Likely and unlikely, too.

I study people’s joyful faces,

Yet my own shows only blue.

I know now I’m not a hunter,

I’ve lost hope in hope for me.

I’m no good and it’s no wonder

Hope’s not in the scope for me.