April Hope

Life wins
reliably trouncing
nihilism and apathy,
stirring the slumbering roots
rustling them low
beneath the soil
(where we don’t see them)
propelling nutrients
up the stalk elevators
to the patiently waiting buds.
Moral imperatives prevail,
as bullying threats fail.
Devastation recedes
as compassion surges,
while blooms
ever so silently
unfold, unnoticeable,
until flagrantly
and gorgeously displayed.
That chill is still in the air,
warming ever so slightly,
and we continue on,
brushing our teeth as usual,
going through our motions,
showing up, encouraging,
and supporting community.
The need to emerge
from the perceived emergency
of inhospitable gloom–
with its brazen unpredictability,
and unconscionable attempts
to malign or destabilize–
surfaces, gets traction,
and actuates.
Regardless, the birds
chortle and sing,
armageddon doesn’t happen,
and the sun
perpetually shines
diffusing the obscuring fog
to signify that if enough of us
say yes only to good,
and humbly keeps doing
what we can do,
joy will multiply,
full-orbed and victorious
beyond the hubris
and hostility
of darkness.

by Polly Castor
4/8/2026