by Sandy McDermott

The dawning of another day is pushing it's light through my window and I resent the intrusion
...without Hope.
Where did you go?

I have spent the night in restless wanderings, retracing our path together, trying to find the crossroad where you departed.
I pray.
Hope, will you ever return?

I cover my head to muffle the sound of the alarm clock as it breaks the silence between yesterday and today.
I pray.
Hope, please come back.

I taste the pain of your absence as a tear falls past my lips to my pillow and evaporates in the heat of the sun.
Sunlight?
Has it always felt this warm and comforting?
Funny, but I don't remember.

I feel something familiar in the gentle breeze as it caresses my face.
Oh!
Peaceful wind, how long has it been since you wrapped me in such softness?

The fragrance of waking flowers fills the room as they rise to greet the morning.
Were they blooming yesterday?
I must have missed that too.
I pray.

The sounds of rush-hour traffic are hushed by a sweet symphony.
Birds?
How long have you been nesting near my window?

My eyes follow the yellow rays of early morning as they fill the room and rest on the silent, white canvas leaning against my dusty color box.
I wonder.

How long have your threads yearned for a stroke of green?
I whisper.
Hope?
In this moment, this one glorious instant in time I know beyond all reasoning....

Hope has returned.