What if.

Afraid of the Response
By: the iHope Poet

You are afraid of silence.
A fear that if you stop to listen closely,
you won't hear anything at all.

You are afraid of the dark.
The illusion that if you pause to look deeper,
you'll be alone in an empty space.

You are afraid of the cold.
Fearful of reaching out with warmth,
asking for it, too;
and feeling a ghost's breath instead.

You're afraid of deficit.
For what is silence, but a lack of noise and sound?
Darkness, but the absense of light?

And a frozen soul just a heart without
the warmth of love.

via

to bleed or to scar

Seared
By: the iHope Poet

it's a brutal pain; the one that reminds you of what you've become.
Or rather, what you once were before you were seared
with the scar.
And the pain, like a cleanser, eliminates all fear;
putting in place of your doubts, only knowledge, only growth.
it's brutal because it is deep.
it's cleansing because it is pure.
it's important
because this is you.

And you have been seared to the core.

me

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.

what a surprise.

Round Two
By: the iHope Poet

Round one, you think you know what's up
you think you've got it down.
And right before you get to rest,
the water starts to drown.
Round one, the sky is crushing life,
and you are dropping fast.
Then just in time before you lose,
you catch a firmer grasp.
Round one, the world spins right again,
and things fall back in place.
And you can understand your job
enough to keep the pace.

Cuz Round one, you knew what was up,
you made it for the cue.
But wait to close your eyes just yet,
for now what's next?
Round Two.

via

made of bubble

Bursting

By: the iHope Poet

Wide horizons made small and close, 

reachable and possible, 

but hardly tangible. 

Grasps of reality blurred, in dreams

and wishes -- your truth 

is stretched at the seams. 

In this bubble, blindness

is more seeable than sight,

more hoped for than hope. 

Once burst, the horizons re-expand, 

the truths are fit and sight becomes

sought for and found. 

Though the distance is vast, 

life's no longer confined to that 

small, empty bit of space, 

Where before, all that filled it's realm

was hot air and wishful, 

idle reverie.

via

where to go

When You're Bound
By: the iHope Poet

It's a curious thing
how simply pleasurable sin can seem
and how it tends to make you free
until, you're not.
A curious thing.

And how subtly,
the flaxon cord is tied loosely
around your neck -- at first you see,
and then, it's tight.
So subtly.

Quite frightening,
to realize the bondage of that string
that pulled you down the path, unfree,
and now you're trapped.
How frightening.

And so it be
that when you throw your agency

via

to evil's hands, for pleasure's things,
the chains are locked. And late
it be.

 . . .

A curious thing, though,
all redeemed.
The bonds are cut, your path set free
to turn around.

Love's curious thing.

Stumble and Fall

via

Blow
by: the iHope Poet

Walking on your shadow,
Tripping over ash.
Waiting for those thunder clouds
to Blow away the past.

not for something Good.

it won't go away.
By: the iHope Poet

rebellion
brings a glorious feeling.
      With a slight twinge of guilt.

the key

via

is to keep down the down-cast
and sickening shame

just en-
-ough to realize your triumph,
your point poorly proven;

before
you are caught in the act
and punished severely.  Made to turn back
around.

Before
this incessant guilt
       is the only thing left.

Accepting

Natural Man
By: the iHope Poet

It's Hard to love a demon,

via

but Can You love yourself?
the natural light shines brighter
sitting on the darkest shelf.

"is dust a guilt or virtue?
is shame an act of sin?
perhaps the gloom will fade away
by letting shadows in. . ."

A Demon has no glory,
it Is Not Heaven Bound.
yet even the most wayward heart can,
with pure light, be found.

Contradict Me

When You Need Fixing
By: the iHope Poet

What If
You get what you need
and not what you want?
Doesn't that hurt worse?
Maybe you survived
in the end,
But did you truly live?

via

Because you tried your best
and you got what you earned.
But love,
love is not deserved.
Love is a wish simply granted,
freely given.

So I'll fix you, yes,
but first, please suffer.
Suffer so that the reality of being
put back together
is clearer to you.

And the difference between
working to earn
and hoping to get,
is a fixed truth in your mind.

Note: this is a double take on the touching lyrics of Fix You by Coldplay

Lost and Found

the Loser's Find

By: the iHope Poet

Hand over brow, sweeping

horizon 

over and over to find

something new. 

Head over heals, falling 

in circles,

don't even realize you don't 

have to look. 

You do have to lose. 

Lose like a loser. 

Fall as a failure of life 

would fall. 

And reach for the skies. 

Reach like a beggar

reaches for what he has lost

and found. 

via

What do you find by losing it?

Just Won't Move

Like Stagnant Water

By: the iHope Poet

It's not about crossroad choices,

it's not about right or wrong.

It's about moving forward,

it's about staying strong.

It's kind of like building a tower,

the higher you go is the game.

But as soon as you stop progressing,

the tower may not stay the same.

For a while it stands halfway finished,

perhaps you're distracted one day.

Eventually, you might just forget it,

and the bricks will start fading away.

It's kind of like old, stagnant water

without movement or ripples or care.

You left it alone for a while.

You left it to rot in despair.

So whether you're out moving mountains,

or planting the roots of a tree,

or trying to keep your balance,

just pedaling through the debris. . .

Remember the changes you're making;

don't stop for a second to rest.

Learn to take big breaths while running;

you'll be grateful you gave it your best!

via

Stare it down

Cause
By: the iHope Poet

Look the battle in the face
Find the fear, but don't give chase.
You don't want to catch the cold,
Holding faith is your main goal.

They don't have to know your name,

via

Just walk in and win this game.
If it's hard, don't come undone,
Save some peace for everyone.

If you fall you get back up,
Don't waste time to place your trust.
No one cares what's right or wrong,
So keep your soul, but play along.

Maybe someday you will see,
How this lifetime came to be;
We keep searching, but we're lost,
So go and fight for one good cause . . .

Change: the great metaphor of replacement

Swept Up (before you know it)

By: the iHope Poet

The mind-blowing concept of change

is how it sweeps you off your feet

when you least expect it to

You are floored 

as you land, 

achingly realizing all that you left behind

without so much as a wave

good-bye

To the hope of prolonging

good bye to your blown away past

Look up
to the new skies and sunshine, 

remember, at least, 

that space in your heart 

Change will use it, time and again, 

to ensure 

that your heart will never "long-for" long

Never filled nor empty 

completely. 

via

Foiled

*the last word of each line is the beginning of the next one. Each phrase is separate, yet is loosely connected to one idea. This is called an enjambment*

You Can't Hide
By: the iHope Poet

Run and hide, but wait, they'll see you
making your way around obstacles
pushing you back, running you down,
down you go into an endless realm of dark
skies and no hope left
behind, and you need to catch up
above, look there and just run
and hide, but wait, they'll see you!

via

finding the key

Locks

By: the iHope Poet

A lock without a key is

tough to crack. 

But if the lock belongs to you, 

only you 

could possibly have a key to find and use. 

The lock only keeps you out

long enough to protect you while you search for what is yours. 

A lock without a key is 

not an obstacle. 

It isn't placed to hold you back, 

rather, 

it represents a new opportunity behind the closed door. 

So take it or leave it, 

but if you accept the challenge, remember...

The harder it is to find the key, 

the better off you'll be after all. 

the things you won't regret...

It Takes a While

By: the iHope Poet

You can only try so hard before your efforts make you fall;

Don't stop to rest, for that is when the pain begins to hurt.

Go spend your time, your life, giving your only and your all,

And don't be disappointed when you end up in the dirt.

I thought you'd know:

It takes a couple tries,

So keep trying --

The journey only needs hard work and a smile

And getting there will take a while.

A million voices say that its OK to let it go,

But you know how it feels to know you didn't do your best.

And though a hundred times you'll wish to live without such far-fetched goals,

Just keep in mind that this way, you won't have to reinvest.

It's hard, I know:

To take so many tries

But still, keep trying --

All you really need is hard work and a smile

And getting there will take a while.






Note: the key to doing hard work is working harder :)

and even more often, it's about working smarter. 

forGivers forGet

Let There be Light...

By: the iHope Poet

To forgive 

is to shed light

over a shadowed corner

in a sunken room -

to let go  of the rope 

that burned your fingers

because you won

that treacherous game of
tug-of-war.

To forgive 

is to accept 

that there's something better 

in the light

than to continue to fight 

in a dim and shattered battlefield - 

it's to open the dirty window

and breathe in some fresh air

as you lock away the poison;

never to inhale its fowl influence again.

To forgive

is to forget

the haunting hopelessness

and leave behind the past

to progress forward - 

Forgiveness 

is the enlightened heart 

a battle won

a clearer window

and a brighter future.

To forgive is ultimately

much easier

than remembering
the sorrow and the hate

by choking back their bitter tastes 

on your tongue

 (spit it out:) 

A Struggle

Some things require effort.

Over the Mountains

By: the iHope Poet

Something unexplainable

Expects you to explain

So you travel over mountain sides

In search of who to blame

What you seek is very difficult

To find; it’s all in vain.

There is nothing you can’t do

But very little left to try

It’s apparent this has happened

So that you could learn to fly

New Things

Now that it's New
By: the iHope Poet

What can you say
When that one precious day
Is meant to be kept, yet
Can only be lost?

What can you do
As your family leaves you
But hope that by changing
They'll remember the cost?

Where can you go
When your home's all you know
And suddenly such
Can no longer be yours?

When will you learn
That new things have to burn
Until you decide
To accept that there's more?

When you finally let go of the past

Something better

Comes along