1
Bravely,
Like a tightrope walker, never looking down
Hope takes a step, and-
Continues toward the other end,
Balancing, never wavering,
Her parasol in one hand,
Her skirts in the other.

2
Hope is a curious stranger, looking
In empty houses, running
Through empty fields, smiling
To find each new day.
Worry
Is the cold-hearted jail warden
Who turns
The key in the lock, and turns
Sunshine into unhappy moonlight
With the wave of his hand.

3
Spinning
To the stars and back
Hope dances on her toes
Along a hard wood floor
Under lights that hurt her eyes
Until
Her performance is over
And she sits in an empty dressing room
Alone
And waits for the applause.

4
Hope’s blank canvas
Tears into ugly scraps of gray
As crying fills the room
And Worry takes over,
Binding Hope's arms in a straight-jacket,
Destroying her paintings
Tipping watercolors and jars of brushes,
Leading her, weeping, from the room.