Four Letter Words: HOPE

it comes each morning - that knot of pure, silky anticipation in your heart. it starts out small and you hardly notice it's there.  it is a fragile thing and it hides behind the others so as not to be easily detected and therefore, sprung upon and destroyed.

it waits for you, standing quietly in its little corner, awash in the colors of bright living dreams.  when you see it, your breath quickens - old friends never forget each other and this little one is a treasured confidante.

it heard you crying last night and it came and sat with you and held your hand.  it stroked your hair as you stared out the window in the early gloom of dawn, while you sat there convinced that you would never amount to anything and that all was certainly lost now.  it waited with you the other day, while you silently willed the phone to ring, wishing that the news that came about a loved one was good.  it heard all your whispered prayers and prayed along with you.

and this morning,  it wakes you -- gently, beginning like a soft silky knot in your heart.

with each clear breath you take it grows and expands till it fills every fibre of your being.

this morning, as with all mornings that come after a long, dark night, you wake with HOPE on your pillow.