HOPE, THIS I BELIEVE

We do indeed live in hard times these days.

And at times life can feel dark and cold.

The tide always seems to roll back in all the much higher.

It's not easy to tread water any more,

not that it ever was.

We fight for survival,

which is quite a shame.

Life used to be so grand.

Where everyone wore a smile,

always quick to pass it on.

But hearts have hardened somewhere along the way.

One has to struggle just to keep it all together.

I miss seeing the joy of a young child,

who was free to run and roam wherever he may.

That innocence was stolen a long time ago.

And it just makes me cry, 

because I remember those days from my youth.

Without a care in the world except where and what would I explore next.

Now that I've grown and I am a man,

I long for those days left so far behind.

Just to laugh and feel free again.

But the world is now in the way.

I know somewhere deep inside my heart there still beats the heart of that child I used to be.

The one with boundless wonder.

With faith without questions.

Questions always come with some doubt,

doubt that boggs us all down.

It just breaks an already broken heart.

Where, oh where did we go wrong?

Where did we lose away,

going so far astray?

It feels as though I have lost my soul.

This hardened heart of mine is so cold,

cracked and crumbling.

But I still have some hope that I cling to with all of who I am.

For without this hope there is just nothing.

What a bleak and cynical existence that would be.

I still believe my hope will never let me down.

It never has thus far.

It always shines, rising up through the rain and the tears.

Where I can see the sun again,

basking in its warmth.

It does my heart and soul good.

If hope is all that I have, then hope is all I need.

God please do not ever let go of me.

For You are the only hope I have.

It is You that I believe in, wholly and solely.

You bring ease to this troubled mind of mine.

You bring comfort to the chaos life has become.

We do indeed live in hard in times these days.

But with even the smallest measure of hope I believe what we have lost can be again.

Even the dimmest of lights can shine the brightest.

For in hope there is strength and courage.

Enough to make it past the last milestone.

Where our journey is destined to lead.

Home.

Where the heart wants to be again for the first time.

So, remember this one last thing.

It's never over, beyond all hope, there is certainly joy in abundance.

This I believe.

SCOTT DAVID BUCKLEY