Hope

hope; the agonizing expectation that
a sliver of light shall obliterate the darkness.
hearing the snarls of famished beasts while praying
for the thin ray of light that’ll send them scattering.
distant thunders promising the rain that never comes,
endlessly sweltering under the heat and not a drop of
water in sight. hope is the relentless banging
on a sealed titanium door. all possible
riches and comforts inside rooms you’ll never see
outside opioid dreams. where dreams go to
die is where hope resides, a vampiric creature with
no teeth. hope; stronger than an 8ball of pure brown-tar heroin,
more pointless than alcohol-free gin.