a psalm for those seeking hope

tell me a story
a good news story
something to make me smile and sigh

but everywhere I look
there’s long faces
angry exclamation marks
raised voices and pointing fingers
aggressive adjectives telling each other
you’re wrong
you’re bad
you’re the problem

I want a story
a good news story
something to help me up

but everywhere I look
there are prophecies of woe
gloomy graphs heralding disaster
catastrophes now commonplace
yet another headline saying
we’re doomed
we’re wrecked
we’re broken

where is my story?
my good news story?
where will I find that hug of hope?

is there more than the five minute feel good at the end of the news?
more than token gestures
positive thinking slogans
affirming insta images?

is there somehow, somewhere, a true story so true
that in spite of all the whirling ugly nonsense
its beauty peeks through into my world
lifts my chin and says
hey, I see you,
do you see me now?

and I glimpse it in a friend’s face
a stranger’s smile
a moment of melody
an image that speaks many thousand words

once upon a time I knew it well
once upon a time I will own it again,
and tell it to others
at this time I must learn it anew
teach me your story