WORSHIPPING A WISH

We worship a wish,
Make heaven of hope,
Seek deliverance from what is to…what?

The magic of both wish and hope
Is that they wish and hope themselves:
Wish wishes for hope, hope hopes for wish,
Advent dog chasing Advent tail
In unrealized roundabout,
In unrecognized repeat,
Round and round and round,
Furious but not futile,
For spin is motion, and motion approach,
And what’s approached is wish and hope.

Furiosity is key,
Because futility lies in naming wish and hope.
They cannot, must not, be named
Because unabstract identity
Makes them other than wish and hope,
Gives weight they can’t sustain
In furious motion,
Slows the spin, admits foul focus,
And shows the soaring, buttressed walls
Just hem in empty air.

Written January 16, 2023
©2023 Lawrence Helms