"hopes...."

hopes...

we must
hold them
gently,
tenderly,
with a soft
hand...

they are as
delicate as the
chantilly
lace edges of
an ice flow on the
mighty
Mississippi

and yet...

they are as
resilient
and tenacious
as a mother's
love for her
child

these hopes that
we hold in
our heart...to
love,
to make a difference in the world,
to live peacefully within
ourselves, to
wake with wonder,
to rest in the arms of
God...

they are as innocent as
the first breath of
an infant
hummingbird
waking to the
whirr of her mother's wings...
and as
wise as
the ancient of days.

they are
a young girls dreams...
motherhood and
white picket fences,
law degrees and
sailing through the stars
on the bow of a
tall ship
navigating by the
Southern Cross.

they are a grandfather's
boyhood
that never
dies,
a  young man's
desire
for a life of meaning,
a father's tears on the
day of his daughter's
birth...and
the weight of her feet on his
while they waltz
at her
wedding.

they are Life
calling
us to
the dance,
and Love inviting us
to trust again...

when you hear them on the
lips of a child,
on the sweet breath of
the morning,
in the words of a
lullaby,
as the first peck from within
a fragile shell,
the silent shaking of the
chrysalis,
in the song of the sea...

hush,
be very still,
allow yourself to
be filled with wonder,

then
say a prayer
of thanks....

you are
hearing the
voice of
God...

divinity
singing...

humanity....