Love and Hope
by Kerry Marston

On a cold winter day, the sun went out,
Grief walked in to stay.
I turned away from the unwanted guest
And bid him on his way.

Grief was merciless, he brought his friends,
Loneliness, fear and despair.
They walked these rooms unceasingly
In the somber cloaks they wear.

Every so often now, love pays a call.
She always has hope by her side.
I welcome love as well as hope.
For I thought surely they had died.

Love counsels grief in a most gentle way,
Bids him be still for a while.
Then love walks with me through memory's hall,
And for a time—I can smile.