Before, I saw hope

as glass baubles

   blown to wish-bone fragility,

   then iced in the winging snow;

Crystalled strands

   dangling–

   until, 

     frayed by untamed winds,

     or snapped, splintered, 

           by stabs of light,

   they scattered, splattered–

      jagged, tattered tears.

Now I know hope

   as that fierce and holy

   stubbornness

   that glimpses 

      the rainbow

      refracted

     by the shattered pieces. 

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Romans 12:12)..