Sometimes
I have held to hope too lightly:
letting go too easily
in the long night of doubt
only to find out a bit later
that holding on a little longer
would have spanned the crater.
Sometimes
I have let loose of love too late:
an ill-fated venture taken
for the wrong reasons,
bearing in my spirit
the wounding of my own bad choices,
a hounding of voices
speaking regrets through the years.
Sometimes
I have failed in faith:
too tired of waiting,
too much of hearing my own voice,
not seeing
that what could not be seen
was more real than the things
that made noise.
Sometimes
I have held too lightly,
let loose too late,
failed.
Never
has hope, love or faith
ever failed me.
H. Arnett
4/12/13
Yes. A thousand times, yes. Thank you.
Incidentally, a little academically, but also significantly: I recently discovered that in 1Thessalonians, the standard 1Cor13 order (faith, hope, love) is altered to faith, love, and hope 2x. It’s a bit of a stretch, perhaps, but we can even find that this order becomes a quasi-outline of the book. Moving forward, i.e, future, i.e., hope, is something of a theme, and faith and love are also dealt with. I think it’s no accident that “hope” appears last in this mighty triumvirate in 1Thess.