The Robin exists and I am filled with hope.

I am filled with hope. Hope springs eternal. I think about this and ponder on the phrase. Hope - Springs - Eternal. I have hope, spring is near and eternal. Hard to explain really, but spring feels eternal. It is the season of hope and is thus always within the hopeful. Therefore, I am compelled to love spring and remain hopeful.

I have a book at home called "If I played My Life: Poems by people with schizophrenia". The Schizophrenia Society of Alberta - Calgary Chapter was heavily involved with the publication of this book, which was published in 1998 by Bayeux Arts Incorporated, who have an office here in Calgary. I present to you a poem which strikes me deeply.

Man's Works
I am to a healthy woman
As a fire hydrant is to a tree
The little yellow metal
Staunch standing water bearer
Short arms extended
Stands and waits while behind it
The Poplar branch
Births, has seasons
A woman emotes
Has suns and shadows
While I'm man made
A technical success
Who stands and waits
To feel, to become
If someone taps me, I respond
But life's sap doesn't rip
From my roots
To touch the sun and sky,
Through leaves which work
Radiant energy into life,
As my loving arms
Would hold a husband and child
Or my idea-filled mind would change lives.
I exist as a hydrant
Limitedly useful, but still.
-Elizabeth MacDonell

Now you may wonder why I would consider to use this particular poem in a blog about hope. It is very sad and more then a little tragic. Yet, when I read this poem and consider the strength it takes for this woman to be every day, to know her illness and still choose to live with it, I am filled with hope. The last line "Limitedly useful, but still." is silently triumphant. It is a banner and a cry and so very powerful. It says to me "I am not what I want to be, but I still am. I exist and thus am a being of substance".

I am inspired. I saw the Robin today (actually I saw two of them). Cheerful birds who wing their way around the treetops; collecting springs of twigs for their nests. Hope springs eternal!


P.S. 2 kitties x 4 feet each = 8 paws in total. 8 paws pounding the floor at mach chicken is very noisy. We don't live in a house - we live in a race track.