While some paint me as fragile as an autumn leaf

crunching underfoot on a wind-swept path,

I am more than the glow of a candle’s flicker

or a sand-castle constructed below the tideline.

I am the ax inside the case of glass

beneath the stencil, “Break in case of emergency!” 

I am the torch handed from future to present

 illuminating darkness in a flood of fire.

I am the warmth suffusing frostbitten hearts,

the very essence of what it is to be alive.

Within you, I am the animus of change,

the flowing Life from which all breath comes.

I am more than the winning lottery ticket, 

the card proclaiming, “Get out of jail free!”

I am the call to action, the promise of better,

coming when there is work to be done.

I am the pull unsatisfied by half-hearted pushes.

I do not simply tell you the grass grows greener:

I am the hose watering your own lawn.

So whether a lifeline or the hammer used 

to construct the foundations of a better world:

hold me so tightly that there is no difference

between me, the calling tool, and your fingers,

for the closer Hope sits in your heart

the more room you have to grow.