we seek for hope.
but it died
long
long
ago.
so we know
that it hasn’t just disappeared
of its own accord
no
we killed it.
murdered it in cold blood
dragged its lifeless body
out of our lives
and buried it under the mound of dirt
that we call life.
but for some reason
we still search for it.
we still mount the podiums
and tell the people who follow us
that there is a hope.
right?
as if
we hadn’t killed it years ago.
so now we run in circles.
try to jump over the hurdles
that were placed in our way
by the lies we told ourselves.
attempt to hide
from the past that we’ve tried so hard
to leave behind
but the past will always haunt us
the present will always disappoint us
and the future will always taunt us with what could be
can be
would be
should be.
even though sometime soon
your future will become your present
and your present will soon become your past.
nothing is ever concrete
except what you put your hope in
but hope is dead
so what do we do
now?
we lie to ourselves.
create a false hope
to stand in place of the one
that we unreasonably killed.
we give excuses for why
we are
where we are
but there is no excuse for murder
so why are there so many killers
on the street
roaming free?
because we don’t prosecute
without evidence
and there’s no evidence
of the death
of something you buried
so far under.
so when they pat you down
and find no weapon
when they search your house
and find no body
they smile
shake your hand
holster their gun
and walk away
because
since they can’t find it
it must not be there
right?
we pray
that things get better
not bitter
and that good things
will always stay together
even though it makes no sense
to pray for something to stay together
when it’s already fallen apart
and it makes no sense
to pray for something to get better
when we’re the ones who made it bitter
in the first place.
oh
the irony.
but the thing is
that whenever anything
is in high demand
and low supply
it is too commonly stolen.
taken by force
from the ones
who haven’t thrown theirs away.
so once again
we become criminals.
we steal hope
from the lucky few
that had the sense
not to murder theirs.
we steal hope
from the young
and from the old.
but stolen hope
doesn’t nourish the soul
the way real hope does.
it’s just a morphine drip
for your conscience
but a constant drip
will empty itself
rather quickly
and leave you more empty
than you were before.
leave you begging for more
of the sweetness and relief
that it brings.
so you find another
innocent soul to rob.
in the end
you ruin the lives of so many
take from them so much
only to obtain so little
of something
that will
never
ever
ever
last
so many things
can take us down the
road
that winds
down
down
down
but never leaves anywhere
we travel down
but since it’s not a very steep descent
we don’t notice
until it’s far too late
for redemption
until the spiral’s walls come down
just enough
for us to look over the edge
and realize that we’re in
a whole new dimension
with no one to speak to
no one to steal from.
for once
in this miserable life
you’re completely
one hundred percent
alone.
it comes as no surprise
but when whatever numbness you brought in is gone
the throbbing pain
and the crippling ache
will take over
and when it does
your fake hope will fall through
and you will cry
you will mourn the loss
of your real
original
hope.
you will think back and ask yourself
if it was worth it.
you will wonder
why
and soon it will dawn on you
that there is no way out.
that the pit you’ve unconsciously
dug for yourself
is too deep for you to climb
then
what will you do?
there’s no point
in working so hard
for so long
all for something
that will evaporate
in a second
before your very eyes.
there's no point
in putting sweat and blood
into seeking for something
that is gone.
it’s a pity
that this world
will die out
so soon.
the potential among us
gone
poof
just like that
because our sustenance
our hope
died
long
long ago.
but is it possible
for us to open the garage
sort through the dusty boxes
pull out the shovel
and dig up the grave?
is it possible
for our hope
to rise from the dead
and restore us
once again?
yes.
because hope will never really die.
there will always be a fire
raging in the heart of one.
there will always be a spark
ignited in the hearts of few.
there will always be an ember
smoldering in the hearts of many.
and
at the very least
there will always be the ashes
lying in the hearts of all.
hope will never die
the human race may misplace their priorities
but the most important things
always find their places
even if it takes a while
to set out its name tag.
soon we will begin to see
the shovels in our hands
the graves in our lives
and we will begin to dig
dig until the first glimmers show
dig until we can touch it
feel it
wrap our arms and our minds around it.
it doesn’t take much
for a whole generation
to find their hope.
one by one
like a disease
it spreads
and once it starts
you can’t stop it
it just goes on and on.
it’s a revolution that we must lead.
join together to prove wrong those who say
we are a shattered people.
prove to them
that there is something much
much better
waiting for us
on the horizon.
let us show the world
that
though our hope
may have died
long
long
ago
we
will
not
be
broken
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76 comments
I really love your poetry stories! Also, such an interesting take on the prompt. Great job. :)
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Thank you, Maya!
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Well said, and well written. I loved that you went for a poetry route, it made this even more relaxing to read. Very soothing, awesome job!
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Thank you so much, Melony!
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Wow, you narrate it in a poetic way and every word is so relatable. Fantastic job ❤
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Thank you, Khizra! That makes my day!
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Like Charles said, and thank you Charles for your amazing feedback because to be honest you're one of the only ones who tells others what to work on and knows what he's saying, free form really is a hard kind of poetry to write, and like the latin phrase says, poets are born, not made. Fortunately, you do retain enough of a groundwork to be considered a poet, so don't worry, just keep listening and working.
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Thank you so much! Will do.
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Free verse looks like the easiest form of poetry, but it is the hardest to get right. Maya Angelou has a lyricism in her free verse which marks it as the work of a master. What you have to find is the invisible rhythm and rhyme that sift into the brain as you read. Writing the cat in the hat is straightforward because all you have to do is find rhyming words and put in a little work to keep the meter constant. But free verse requires you to fiddle with each line, with each word, and see if you can find some variation which makes it a little ...
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I - wow. Thank you so much. You're probably right, and I should edit at least 5 more times. I was previously writing a story for this same prompt, but with hours left to the close, I read over what I had and hated it. So I woke up at around 7:00 in the morning and wrote this. I guess there wasn't much time for me to do very much editing. But really, thank you. For the comment and being one who's feedback I can count on. It means a lot.
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I. LOVED. This. That's all I can say, tbh
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Aww, thank you!
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Hey! I saw you followed me so I went to check out your story, or poem. Nice pacing and wonderful use of metaphor. I really liked it!! I would love it if you could check out my stories too!!! XElsa
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Thank you, and yeah, I will try to comment!
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That is deep. Quite philosophical. I'm only disappointed that it was not longer.
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Oh, thank you! I have to admit, it wasn't longer mainly because I was running out of steam for it. Partly that, and partly the fact that I hated the other thing that I had wrote, so I wrote Hope on the morning of the contest and didn't have a ton of time to keep going. Again, though, thank you!
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I love poetry styles like this. I love the message. I just loooooooooo oooooooooooooo oooooove this.
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LOL I've seen your poetry too! That's insane, I could never think to do something like that!
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A poetry series?
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Yeah! That's so cool, I never even thought of it until I saw yours!
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I just did one, but then I wondered "what happens next?" and I just took off on this craziness.
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Well then, don't stop being crazy! :)
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Well done! It's rare to find a free verse poem that maintains a consistency and forms a complete narrative, as you've done here. Stay safe and keep writing!
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Aww, thank you!
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Righteous. My type of existential joint (and flow).
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Thank you, Duvay! I can tell from the stories you write!
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Wow, you have created an extraordinary piece of work, Phebe! The narrative style is so unique and makes your story differentiate from other ones. p.s. I would appreciate if you could read my story when you aren't busy, thank you!
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Sure, of course!
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I feel as though I was taken on a very special long journey. The undulating road down and up. Amazing piece of work!
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Thank you. That means a lot to me.
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You are very welcome it is a pleasure to read good writing
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:)
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I read it and went 'WOW!' You really have got a powerful way with poetry!
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Aww, thank you so much, Ana!
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I loved how you took the prompt and did something so different with it. This was beautifully written and so relevant. I try not to pay attention to which prompt piece is submitted under so I can get lost in the words and then hopefully guess right once I’ve finished reading, I was lost on yours until about mid way through and I love that it made me think and feel. Great job!
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Thank you so much, and I'm glad that it gave you a good experience. I actually had no idea what to do, so I did this. Thank you again!
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Wow, this was so good! I love the message of this poem!
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Thank you, Maya!
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Loved this! So powerful and meaningful, amazing work!
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Aww, thank you so much! I love yours too!
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Thank you! Definitely going to check out your other stories now :D
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Thank you! :)
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Thank you for the likes. I hope you read them. I'd love to know your thoughts. I'll be checking out your work soon and let you know mine.
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Will do!
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What a deep-felt message of hope. Enjoyed the poem~Rose
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Well, I'm glad you did. Thank you!
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Hi, thank you for reading my stories. ~Rose
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Of course!
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THIS WAS AMAZING!!! Seriously, I'm in love!!! I'm a huuuge poetry lover and this was possibly the best I've read in a long time. I love how you expose the way humanity takes what we have for granted, and then once the ribbons are shredded, you light an ember of "hope", and leave the story with a positive message, knowing that maybe it's not too late, maybe we can still recover what we've destroyed. FANTASTIC job 👏👏👏👏 Also thank you for the follow and likes!
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For the likes, you're totally welcome. If you need me to read a story, at any time, just ask. And thank you! I was thinking of ending it on a sad note, but then it would just make people cry without any inspiration, so I eventually changed my mind. I'm glad you liked it!
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Will do! Thank you!! I'm sooo glad you didn't. People often point out the bad, but very rarely do they show how we can find the good. That was a wise decision 😂
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Well, I'm glad I did! :)
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Hey, can I take you up on that offer about reading my stories? I just finished one called "An Accident to Remember" and would love it if you could proofread it for me, before the next contest ends so I can do any final editing haha 😂 If you don't want to though that's fine!
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No worries! Of course, I would! Don't be shy, I have my mom read through mine all the time! :)
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