Soul-Expanding

The Blip 

By: the iHope Poet

When the big things are little 

and the little feel big, 

when the waves of sheer longing 

make your heart feel like lead,

and you don't have a reason 

to be stuck in your head;

but you  do, and you are 

since you're lost in The Blip.                                                     

It was just a few moments 

in the grand scheme of things,

and it ended so quickly, 

so it's hard to believe 

that it happened at all, 

but you know how you feel. 

And it doesn't feel good 

to be lost in The Blip. 

You don't blink for the fear 

that you'll lose all the proof 

of the challenge you're facing, 

the pain you've lived through. 

It consumes you, it changed you,

short-lived though it was, 

and you cling with your might

to hold onto The Blip. 

In due time, you remember 

there is rest to reclaim 

through the grace of the One 

who has suffered the same. 

Then, embraced in His love, 

filled with pure, refined joy,

your whole soul is expanded 

coming out of The Blip. 

     

         Lovetta Reyes Cairo Art via 

How will you do it?

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Be Sure
By: the iHope Poet

To trust, a thing of hope in lifted burden,
of turning not towards the paths behind.
When trusting, cares may still arise in number,
but as we move in faith the doubts subside.

To trust, you choose to love before you fear them.
You choose to look inside them very first.
Then with those open eyes you're filled with vision
of how the best in them defeats their worst.

We trust God; by so doing, He can change us.
With trust will come a strength fit to endure,
to carry through, while lifting those around us.
And loving them will make our trusting sure.

He Hears You

Merely Seeds 

By: the iHope Poet

Some would say that miracles

come in times of greatest need.

From what I've seen, God plants them

in our lives as merely seeds.

We carry them along with us

without a second thought;

through every walk of life we tread

their nourishment is wrought.

Somewhere along the journey,

as we learn and strive and fall,

there come moments when we realize

that we need a miracle.

Our prayers and pleas will follow,

not a single cry unheard:

Father knows us and He sees us

long before we feel the hurt.

And those tiny seeds he planted

now as sprouts and even trees

come to light as faith demands them -

they fulfill our deepest needs.

So when trials may beset you,

and you're pleading for His aid,

dont forget His loving timing,

how He listened when you prayed.

If you're asked to wait in patience

for His miracles to grow,

you can trust in Father's wisdom

and the blessings He has sown.

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Fruitless

Being Broken 

By: the iHope Poet 

I am a weak person 

and I break a lot of things

but by far my greatest weakness 

is knowing that I'm broken 

and wishing that I wasn't 

- that wishing just breaks me. 

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Seek to grow.

Pain Can

By: the iHope Poet

See what pain can do to a man --
Can turn him fair, or drain him pale.
Will break him open, or draw him closed.

See what pain will do to a man
When he chooses life over vengeance cold,
Or else shuts his heart out from the warmth.

See how pain is changing a man
Who soon forgets the deeds misdone,
Compared to one who can’t let go.

See that pain is good in a man
Who sees what good still can be made,
And doesn’t waste from building walls.

Seek that growth from pain in a man.

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Believer

I Want to Be
By; the iHope Poet

When I was a little girl
miracles happened.
I saw them every day.
They do not happen any less, now,
but I have become less of a witness than a passerby.
Less of a believer.

When I was a little girl,
God cared about me.
The world was important too and all,
but in my eyes, to Him, I was the world.
He does not care any less, now,
but I have become less of a feeler than a reasoner.
Less of a believer.

When I was a little girl,
Nothing was impossible.
Miracles happened, and I knew I was loved.
The world is still at my fingertips,
and God is no loess capable of lifting me up.
But I have become less of a child than an independent.
Less of a believer.

Today, I'm just a little girl,
trying to remember
what it's like to be in His arms.
I'm looking for the miracles, feeling for His love,
and trusting in His vision.
Because I want to be more of a witness
than a passerby.
More of a feeler than a reasoner.
And more of God's child than the world's.
I want to be a believer.

Different Paths

two horizons
By: The iHope Poet

the ocean and the sky form two horizons.
        a second shade of blue atop the first.

some people sail the shoreline
        others cross in flying planes.

and both routes last a distance
        that can quench the traveler's thirst.

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it gets dark here

Turn on the light?
By: the iHope Poet

healing hurts.
   it itches, it stings
it burns.

it touches.

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   it lifts, it sees,
it turns.

but somehow the light
   is too bright
in the day.

it's hard to be open
   when darkness
can stay.

healing refreshes,
   it cleans
and renews.

the pain can do wonders,
   or not.
you must choose.

Along the Way

Dust and Pebbles

By: the iHope Poet

Take this pebble from your shoe,

Place it far away from you;

The dust you gather on the road

Can trip you with your heavy load.

Don't let fears and tedious cares

Make the journey worse for wear..

Choose to drop those hopeless dreams

that always drag you to your knees.

When you're down, please, look above, 

Smile, and know that you are loved. 

And, as a final rule of thumb, 

Don't forget how far you've come! 

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Don't do it alone

Without a Friend
By: the iHope Poet

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As hope is lost and faith is torn,
so light is broken, left unseen,
It's hard to grasp the thread of strength
needed to last that final reach.

Your truth is fallen, seeming wrong,
your wounds are raw and cutting deep
Humility alone won't bring relief
from all the pain and all the grief.

So, when bursting thunder rents you through
and darkness threatens without end,
keep in mind the simple truth:
You can't be found without a friend.

Roses have thorns.

The Risk

By: the iHope Poet

Life isn't meant to be lived in heartache;

though the heart does break, breathing helps us mend.

We don't climb trees with the intention of falling,

and when those branches don't hold, we just climb again. 

The risks shouldn't keep us from choosing the greatest, 

yet we must regard the prices we have chosen to pay.

So when we lose, or ache, or fall, or regret, 

it's best to accept the beauty caused our pain today. 

No, we wouldn't fly airplanes with wings tipping down, 

or expect our best kite to soar without wind. 

We wouldn't pick roses that've wilted and withered;

But we don't drop the flower when its thorns prick our skin.  

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be the change.

When there is a truth . . .
By: the iHope Poet

If the truth hurts, change it.
If the truth changes you, let it hurt.

If the truth is false, fight it.
And if the truth fights you, call out it's lie.

If the truth defines you, live it.
When you live that law, then you are made true.

touché

living is learning and

loving is giving and

fixing is trying to live

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reaching

the Distance

By: the iHope Poet

I am smothered in distance

too far 

to reach past, 

to break through and climb out. 

A distance so long and predictable, 

seen even in the unseen stretches

of life laid before me.
That distance,

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like a bright and 

bold

yellow-brick-road

calling for me from it's inlaid boundaries, 

"come, follow me" --

and perhaps I will, 

but I'd wish to look up 

at the vast blues and grays and brilliant others, 

where the call reaches high. 

High above this distance, 

where the spindly length of road down below

is seen simply as a design. 

With a pattern carved for a purpose, 

and a purpose directed for good. 

So the distance is something

less smothering

and more of comprehension

and understanding. 

So the distance is what I can follow

not just some breadth

of my mind's grapling remarks. 

Blind - ish

Can't You See?
a song
By: the iHope Poet

Baby girl, so lost and lonely,
Little child, without a friend.
Can't you see, that what you're wanting,
Isn't there when you pretend?

Oh, can't you see,
Can't you see,
Won't you see?
Can't you see what you wanted to be?
"
Can't you fly through the dark and be free?

Of a world made light and clearer
Shines a daughter, full of care.
But she won't see you if you're fashioned
From a place that isn't there.

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she's not a Pretender!

Oh, can't you see,
Can't you see,
Won't you see?
Can't you see where you wanted to be?
"
Can't you see where you want to fly free?

There's a girl with worn out fears, she
Used to cry herself to sleep.
It didn't seem like life could change her,
The way she made the angels weep,

But can't you see,
Who she's turned out to be, now?
Oh, can't you see,
How she's learned how to see..
Oh, can't you see,
Can't you see,
Won't you see?
Can't you see that she's finally free...

Baby girl, once lost and lonely,
Now she walks with purpose, bold.
If you ask her what she fears,
She would say she doesn't know -
- cuz fears aren't where she wants to go.

Limits (the Sky)

Need

By: the iHope Poet

Kissing the moon with teardrops

Lingering on my lips.

Reaching the stars,

Glancing the clouds, 

Falling down with the rain.

Twilight is quickly fading;

When did the end begin?

Trying to breathe,

Failing to see,

Life will not wait for me.

Maybe our last tomorrow

Is lost in the setting sun,

so All that I am

and Wanted to be is

Struggling to remain. 

Soon, I'll have understanding.

Now is my time to learn.

but Touching the sky

and Grasping the world

is Not what I truly need. 

Not really what need. 

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It's Time

Dropped Off

By: the iHope Poet

Let go of.

That's what I am

And will be always.

Dropped on the steps

of my own front porch,

Left in the streets

that only lead one direction: Away. 

And I cannot stay. 

Life is meant to be traveled,

So I'll continue forward.

And though it's hard to not look back, 

I mustn't. Ever, or I'll cry 

and lose my focus on where I need to be. 

And the farther I go,

the less I stop, 

and the shorter I rest, 

So, the easier it is

for me to be

Let go. 

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And Letting Go

By: the iHope Poet

Saying goodbye

May or may not be as easy

As it seems at times.

The load is so heavy

And relief is the key

To move on.

Sometimes I think

That holding on makes me so strong

And I'm wrong.

Releasing the care

May be the way to learn

how to fly.

True, I must leave,

and maybe they'll miss me

Like I will miss them...

But whether or not;

My fingers are slipping,

As I reach the end.

it changed me

Never the Same

By: the iHope Poet

we had a chance to let it go,

there was a moment to move on --

and after all the pain we've seen,

all the wrong things that we've been

-- perhaps the hope has come and gone

perhaps, we did just let it go. 

the sky was black, as were our hearts, 

our innocence became no more --

but we stood fast, and tried to see

the paths that led to victory 

-- and though we had to fight the war,

at least we know, it changed our hearts. 

today we live with wounds and scars,

and yes, our past is dark and bleak.

we had a chance to walk away,

yet now we stand and here we stay. 

the blackness that would make us weak, 

is lost beneath our withered scars

sometimes, the things we cannot change

will end up changing us instead;
so, now our souls are firm and strong
we are the roots of change, life-long;
and we're still shifting, thread by thread.
No, we will never be the same. 

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That Weightless Sense of Rising Fear

Known
By: the iHope Poet

I do not cry
because I feel unknown.
I cry
because I am known,
and yet, so entirely misunderstood.
I cry
because I am so loved,
and yet, cannot come to terms
with all that I feel.

I cry
because I'm so selfish
and can give nothing back - at least, not nearly what I
feel would be an adequate price to pay in return.

I cry
because change has bound me and sculpted my life,
my identity;
and I cannot know if I am now grateful or sorrowful
for either what I see ahead, or
what I am leaving behind.

I cry
because the shadows lurk;
worse! they leer at me in their dark territory of doubt.
I cry
because I understand that although those corners provide
a familiar space to brood,
I will not permit myself to dwell near them.

I cry
because the light and darkness in me are
contradicting forces, which may ever exist
but never coexist.

I cry.
Not because I have much to learn
but because I know so much;
and I fear that pride will overcome my faith.

I cry
because I am told not to fear
but to walk with assurance that I am loved, no matter what.
And I know I am loved.
I know that I am somehow significant in this vast world.

I cry,
because I am. Known.

In the distance

I Rise

By: the iHope Poet

Today I'm not myself

I'm scared that I might fall

You think you know my heart

You've broken down the wall

I think I might just die

But still, I'll stay and fight

And when you see me run, 

That's when you'll know, I'll rise

Today, I've changed myself

I've torn through all the lies

You thought you knew my heart

Yet I am new, I rise

Picture: Maren Smith