While I was looking for an article for my Poetry Pairing, I came across a This I Believe essay, There Is Always a Way Out by Morris Mchawia Mwavizo. In the essay, he tells a story of his past fighting against his poverty with the hope that he will be able to fulfill his dream of becoming a writer. His circumstance prevents him from going to college to be certified as a writer; therefore he starts working. Although he is busy with his work and doesn’t have money to afford paper to write, he finds various ways that he could keep his dream. He spends evenings writing poems and short stories after working in the morning; he writes on any materials he could find – from “the paper that wrapped maize flour… paper [he] picked up on the streets” to cement bags. Thanks to such burning hope in his heart, his dream is kept alive and finally comes true: “In whichever circumstances I found myself, I never lost hope because I believed there was a way out…It took me more than a decade of dreaming and three years of study to get certified as a writer. And at 34, I have written for international papers, had my work published in magazines, and have worked for three media houses, all because I believe there was a way out.”

The essay has inspired me to find a picture and to write a poem that could further demonstrate the essence of hope: hope is small, yet powerful. It turns the hardship into its energy, the energy that keeps the heart fighting in the battle of life. Therefore, the harsher the situation is, the more the hope thrives.

The Whisper

There are days that life

is a nightmare.

But in the nightmare

the whisper grabs my hand

pulling me out

the bad dream.

 

 

What is hope?

It is a colorful rainbow hiding

behind the black curtains of clouds.

It is a baby bud pushing

through the grains and rocks

stretching towards the sparkling sun.

It is a sight of a cup of hot tea

bearing the warmth

waking up the sapping soul

in the snow storm.