Hope – A Random Scholarship Contest Essay Turned Poetic

This post contains my latest poem, after a long dry spell! It feels good to write again. Actually, I have written a couple poems for my girlfriend admittedly, however all other topics have been left untouched for months and months, and they were starting to boil over. Crazy how being stuck in school can make you want to write… You know it’s been too long since your last poem when you write a solid poem for a $500 scholarship essay contest lol. Honestly, I’m more proud of the piece than I am of applying, but who knows, maybe God will bless me as a winner or finalist. I didn’t realize it, but it was so important that I write this during this time we live in. So much hurt, angst, and even death and tyranny surround us. The media is constantly focusing on the negative aspects of life. I didn’t realize just how hopeless I was starting to get about certain things until I started to put my thoughts down on paper as to why/how I should hope for the future. This was an essay contest, so I didn’t go full Bible mode on them, but it’s imperative to remember that Jesus represents the best and longest-lasting hope we could ever ask for. There’s hope in mercy for our sins, hope for redemption and grace for our loved ones, hope in eternal life in Heaven, hope in a restored and sanctified body, and hope that Jesus will one day return to the earth and set up His kingdom, soundly defeating Satan and his minions for a thousand years! Regardless, thank you so much for taking the time to read this! Below is the prompt/lead-up to the poem and then the poem itself. Enjoy and have a week filled with blessings!

Prompt: What is One Thing That Gives You Hope for the Future?

I “hope” you’ll forgive my slight breach of etiquette, you expected an essay and below is but a poem. However, I couldn’t simply tell one thing that gives me hope for the future, for it’s hard to separate one facet of my motivations from the next. I wanted to honor both the prompt and my own passion on the subject of hope, and it’s my earnest desire that if this essay doesn’t advance as a finalist, that at least all who read it can be positively impacted by its message. Have a wonderful day and enjoy the read, I thoroughly enjoyed composing this!

Hope, you say? That’s quite the tricky word,
And quite tricky words brew scores of thoughts.
Please narrow it down? Now that’s just absurd.
My narrowed claim: “Hope means I’m less distraught.”

Yes, hope is vision, hope is purpose,
Hope is confidence and expectation.
Yet, if we dig beneath the surface,
Hope is far more than a brief explanation.

Hope rests in near-silence behind our minds,
Prods us to imagine, dares us to object.
Hope doesn’t let us our failures define,
Instead, it oft’ helps us to course-correct.

It’s here that I take my finite stand,
Trade pen and pad for hallowed ground.
Hope deserves awe, it assumes command;
Thus, I’ll now avoid scribbling “hope” down.

For “it” ever anticipates to be called on,
Preparing to act when all else has failed,
Uniting us as our resolute bond,
If faced with despair, “it” always prevails.

This idea that inspires the best in us
Refuses limitation by number or scope.
Hence, when encouraged to formally discuss,
A collage of thought-images are provoked:

Awaiting your lover’s arms during closed borders
(In my case, it was 17 months);
A prayer for a friend’s ailing disorder;
A strong belief that there’s still game to hunt;

A fervent wish that schools would close when
There’s a huge exam on the ‘morrow;
A frantic surge to wet a burning cabin
‘Cause it’s clear there’s no time left to borrow;

Complete trust in a surgeon’s hands
When your brother’s new liver is ready;
Unshakable knowledge that God understands
When your trust in His plan is not as steady;

Expecting a standing ovation on stage
Before the production comes to conclude;
Heading to class late but prepared to engage,
Knowing the instructor’s mercy is undue;

Aspiring to work in a courageous field;
The glint in the eyes of a child mid-play;
Emotionally drained, but refusing to yield;
Dreaming of marriage and a family one day.

It is these experiences that keep me going,
Believing in a future neither bleak nor vain.
In the Verse that follows, “it” makes one final showing:
“Hope does not put us to shame.”

Photo by JOHN TOWNER on Unsplash