Hope

is larger than now, certainly
than angels, the heft of talismans, 
any pain or truth, 
and more miraculous than miracles, 
the natural world that crawls
across a leaf, generosity, or illusions.

Seek no deadline for hope, 
the counterpoint to time; 
when placed side by side, 
time becomes hope's predator. 

Published in the Westchester Review (2015).