Hope From Ashes

I had a dream once.
It blossomed beautifully
From carefully tended seeds of aspiration,
Watered with hope and perseverance.
I lovingly set it on the windowsill
For all the world to see
And it stretched forth slender, earnest stalk,
Its silken petals turned toward the sunshine of success.

Gradually, caught in up the wave of success,
I became involved in grand doings
Too important for silly dreams
So I pushed it back into a corner
To make room for other better things.
“After all, I told myself, “it’s only temporary
And I can always put it back.”

Then my puffed-up pride faltered and died
As my trendy world faltered and crashed,
Leaving only ruin, failure, and dust.
I rediscovered my dream,
Half-crushed beneath the rubble,
Its soft, lovely petals
Once swelled with hope,
Now curled up brownly in my hand.
“What have I done?” I cried to the world,
“I have sacrificed the dream that made me fly,
I’ve destroyed that which I love the most.”
Filled with grief, I mourned its death,
Tears dropping like rain onto its shriveled form.
A transformation then occurred –
My dream sprang up, renewed with life,
v Its rainbow petals filled with determination.
Tears of sorrow and regret
Awakened my dry and brittle dream,
For dreams never truly die,
But simple sleep like a tree in winter,
Awaiting a gentle, caring touch.

My dream, strengthened with time and wisdom,
Spread and grew before my eyes,
Then burst open to reveal
A million new and sparkling dreams,
Each painted with the bright colors of success.

Out of the ashes of disappointment,
Hope is born.

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