Hope Is Hard

Hope is hard
When our skies darken
When our world shakes
When our homes burn
And we feel afraid

Hope is hard
When our families are split apart
When our friendship circles shrink
And we feel isolated

Hope is hard
When our leaders fail us
When governments serve themselves
At the expense of their people
And we feel betrayed

Hope is hard
When we mourn for our past
When we fear for our future
When we wait
Anxious and with held breath
For the next upheaval…

But…

Hope is hard
Like a diamond
A tiny, precious thing
Born of heat and pressure
Into a symbol of eternity

Our hope can be like that
Born of our struggles
Born of our fears
Born of our resilience

Hope exists
Like diamonds
In the bedrock of our souls
Waiting to be unearthed

Hope exists
No less difficult
But all the more resilient
Because of the crucible
In which it came to be