Hope for the New Year

“Morning Star” is one of my favorite images, an except from Alphonse Mucha’s “Moon & Stars” series. She always speaks to me of Hope and a poem that appeared one night to share the sky with brilliant stars.

Hope

Hope flew in on starlight,

a gift of renewal,

energy and joyful anticipation

of adventures yet to come;

the stuff of dreams,

promises of love and faith

that the best of our intentions

will bear fruit.

Somehow with hopeful hearts

it matters less that futures are invisible,

as travelers we go map-less

into the dark,

trusting we will find a lamp,

the moon will rise,

and daylight will remain inevitable.

Hope is a grace that tells us

we are mission-born,

endowed with native worthiness,

possessed of gifts unique and fine,

beloved by Spirit for our self,

each one a gem in Beauty’s crown.

There is a unity in hope

that fosters heart connection,

encouraging us to reach out

to those we know and others

we have not met till now,

to connect with land

and sea and sky

and all the creatures

that call them home.

In Hope we feel ourselves

at one with life,

believing it will always be thus,

until an ill wind blows coldly through

closing our hearts to what might be,

engendering fear,

causing us to lose the precious gift of Hope.

For like a child or pet or plant,

Hope must be nourished,

watered and fed.

A myth exists that one needs Hope

to open the heart to life;

but, truly, it is the open heart

that magnetizes Hope’s radiance

with gratitude and loving-kindness.

Hope stays for joy,

grows strong in love,

builds scaffolds of positive regard,

and longs to be at home

with hearts and hands

who will not lose her from neglect.

Hope illuminates the evening sky

with starlight born of pilgrims’ prayers

and wishes for a better world

sent up to heaven by humble hearts,

so that Hope may then return to Earth

to lift the weight from those who toil,

yet even in their darkest hours

can still say, Yes! when Spirit calls.

© 2018-2019 Cheryl Lafferty Eckl, Flying Crane Press. All rights reserved.

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