"If Hope-"

A Poem

If Hope—

If hope is just the thing with feathers, 
why has dawn arrived over the skyline like a starling, 
singing its city's praises louder than it ever dared to before? 

If hope is just a fleeting, momentary feeling, 
disregarded and derided by dooming despots scheming, 
why do we continue to fight with greater might for more? 

If hope is just a tired political message,
why does it persist beyond the calculated performing, 
gripped tightly in the calloused fists of everyman?

Because--hope swings for more than a homerun. 
It charges with abandon in its tireless yearnings,
soaring bravely with its outstretched wingspan.

Because--hope sinks into our skin like brow sweat,
priceless memories of a hard workday’s earnings,
expressed openly, warmly, and without shame. 

Because--hope swells with pride like a Copland suite, 
humble in its origins, yet tough in its timpani warnings,
living in the bated breath between his first and last name.

---

A Note

Hello, friends.

It seems everyone, particularly those of us living in the city of New York, has something to say about Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani’s historic win on Tuesday night. I suppose I do too, though it’s more of a cautious wandering. Instead of a well-researched think-piece or a well-deserved fan essay, I’ve written a poem.

In a year otherwise branded by cruelty, lawlessness, and serious bullshit, Mamdani lit a match on the long-smoldering, yet tampered-down, fire of hope. It burns brighter by the day. I see so much “hope scrolling” around my feed and the feeds of my friends and families. I want to believe that hope never dies, or at least, it can be brought back to life. But if Mamdani’s campaign is any kind of proof, this belief in hope takes a lot of hard work, especially when it seems like all is lost.

Hope is as American as Apple Pie. Our poetry is full of it, from our earliest yearnings to our most recent struggles. But this is also remarkably optimistic for such a complicated country. I often wonder how blind optimism and crushing reality can co-exist here. I try to seek out examples of both every day.

I feel lucky to live in a city where that very thing is almost always possible.

---