In An Act of Hope
by Michael Doyle

In an act of hope, we turn to poetry
To capture life's acts in some capacity
It expands beyond what any language can do
To extend and share my heart's point of view

We live in a world that is flat and distracted
Where so much said should be quietly retracted
Eloquence has been replaced by memes and cliche
May it's that so few have value in what they say

We seem to be stuck in a world of rinse and repeat
And a 24-hour news cycle with its emptiness replete
Seems to consist of bad sentences strung together
As if the human race has given up on being better

Intimate thoughts and emotions offer complexity
But it's best put in terms of sweet simplicity
Words are meant to draw out every sense of meaning
Revealing the best of every part of humans being

We must carefully avoid words, smooth and empty
And look instead for fulfilment, given completely
Poetry is meant to be declarations of hope spoken
Out into a world that otherwise remains broken

It's the try that leads to things of magnificence
As we struggle to find some path of significance
We stare into the face of the wordless hollow
Of life that has its pressures that we swallow

We know, of course, our words cannot say or recall
Those things that we cherish most, but of this all
We know that we must try to say what we must say
And our hearts and words will somehow find their way

(c) May 3, 2024   Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved