Hope

Hope I

In these days of anger and anxiety
and dying inside from the stress of life
I will find hope in the cuddle of a dog

In these days of so much bad news
when everything is dark and bleak
I will find hope in the sunrise

In these days when things seem
to go from bad to worse to impossible
I will find hope in the crunch of leaves.

In these days when lies and hate
are more prevalent than tolerance and love
I will find hope in the smile at a stranger.

Hope II     

In these days unlike any in my lifetime
in these days of every day a new low
in these days where truth is on holiday

in these days where the enemy list grows
in these days where the press is persecuted
in these days when nationalism is praised

I will strive to find hope.

For Sherry's prompt at "What's Going On" -- Hope


(I must confess that I have trouble with the word "hope" right now, so I looked back at poems that I wrote in the past and found these poems from 2018, which are still relevant to me.  They still express how I feel today. In fact, I am amazed that even back in 2018 I was struggling with hope.)

Mathematics

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Mathematics

I learned that two plus two equaled four,

and for most of my life
that seemed dependable,
the sort of thing
that did not ask
who was speaking.

Lately, though,
it appears that two plus two
can become six
if six is more useful,
or three
if three serves the moment,
provided a certain someone
says it often enough.

Numbers no longer count.
They campaign.

A war can be stopped
eight times,
or six,
or ten,
depending on the day's applause.

An election can be won
long after the ballots
have been counted,
recounted,
audited,
certified,
and counted once more,
because arithmetic
is expected to surrender
to insistence.

Crowds become the largest
ever assembled,
even when empty sections
wait patiently in the background,
visible to anyone
who still believes
that addition begins with looking.

Deficits become larger and larger
but who is keeping count?
Fortunes grow, multiply each year,
but it is all legal, you know!

Written for Susan's prompt "Mathematics" at What's Going On?

Not Much Wildlife Visible

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Not Much Wildlife Visible

The day settles over everything with relentless heat.
Ninety-eight degrees leaves the fields without motion.
The deer have found their shelter in shadow.
The rabbit keeps to its cool hiding place.
Squirrels and chipmunks have withdrawn from the light.
Only the stillness of parched grass remains where I look.

The absence is not emptiness but quiet wisdom.
Life continues out of sight beyond what my eyes can find.
The hidden creatures understand the rhythm of this day.
Wise, they spend nothing against the blazing sun.
Within my home, I leave the afternoon to its silence,
knowing the slightly cooler evening will belong to them.

For Sumana's prompt at What's Going On? -- "Wildlife in Your Vicinity"

We are in the midst of an unusual heat wave.  It is difficult to spend
 any time at all outside. It will go on for a few more days.  This morning
I took Olive for a walk at 5:30 A.M. before everything heated up. 
Her paws would burn if I went out later in the day. Plus, on top of
that, air quality (due to fires in different places) outside is awful.