Oasis

Hope springs eternal, they say
When you're walking through arid lands
Throat coated with dust
Hope is what propels you to that haze of
Green at the edge of the horizon.
Hope is bubbling, cool and wet
Along the edges of a parched soul
Hope is the one always chanting
"Just a little longer, a little farther
"A little more and we'll get there."

Some days, it feels as though
Hope is one sadistic son of a bitch
Forcing you to throw yourself through hoops
Walk over hot coals
Crawl over jagged glass
Springing upon you with whip and prod
Hope forces you to imagine better,
Work harder, feel more.
Dangling the memory of water
Cool wet serene water in this
Hot empty wasteland, this pit of nothing
Just sand and blood and nothing.

On those days when Hope bites you
With fierce and jagged teeth
And you feel you must be a marionette,
Because you're nothing like a person...
Remember that Hope can take you
To a better place, a gentler location
And no matter how cruel
These failing steps have been
That lead you to joy
Remember that Hope is the blistering path
You asked to take you home.