Time keeps passing by and

Nothing changes

But the core of my being

Chipping away at the crap

That has accumulated on

My soul

I struggle to stay alive but

Death overtakes me

Often

I lose my grounding

Suddenly, Violently

I sink in the abyss

Full to the brim with

Emptiness

Lost to the underworld of pain and

Darkness

But my soul is also

Relentless

After each blow she

Picks herself up from the ashes and declares

I am still here. I am still alive.

Do not pronounce me dead

Beneath the wounds a sliver of

Life and hope always remains

I'd like to think that it keeps

Getting strong after each

Recovery

That the sliver spreads more

Fervently than before

But in the darkness all hope is

Lost

The sliver is not enough to save me

From the fall itself

It is fitting that my name

Means Hope

That is my life's struggle

To remain, embody and share

Hope

Hope is what brings me back from the

Darkness

No matter how deep the abyss, nor how

Torturous the struggle

The sliver of Hope always remains

I am alive