The great poet Emily Dickinson once wrote:

"Hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul
and sings the tunes without the words
and never stops at all."

While most of us are sitting at home, terrified that the world will never go back to normal, we have to hold onto those ounces of hope within us. Instead of dwelling on the evil circling around us, we can look at the good coming from all of this.

I wrote a poem about what is going on right now. These are my fears, my thoughts, my hopes...

Some of us are staying inside
and those that aren't, can't even stand side-by-side.
Some of us are no longer working
while the essential are busy and hard-working.

This virus doesn't care who it will infect
any one of us can fall suspect.
Whether you're young or old,
it will not be like the common cold.

But, amid all of those scary thoughts,
our Earth hit the jackpot.
Waters are turning back to blue
and the air is clearing, too.

Not only has the environment benefited from us staying in,
but we are spending more time with our families again.
Not to mention those in school and at work who were about to drown
are finally taking some time to slow down.

People are starting to show more appreciation
for the healthcare workers across the nation
Along with a growing compassion for one another,
and all the memories we've made with each other.

I have hope when all of this over
that all these good changes will carry over.
I have hope that we will use what we learned from this time
and remember it for the rest of our lifetime.

I have hope we will remember to appreciate what we do
and remember those who helped us through.
I have hope we will continue to show compassion
because anything else is out-of-fashion.

I have hope that we will survive this
because our will is stronger than any virus
I have hope that one day things will be okay
and we can go back outside to play.

I hold onto these hopes
because I don't want to be the one that mopes.
Rather I want to take this scary hour
and leave it to a higher power.

There is good coming from all of this
so give your loved one a kiss
and let's take this time to just do our best
and, please, remember to stay safe and to rest.

This will not last forever. Please stay safe and remember to hold onto hope. My hope reminds me that there is good coming from this, and I can't wait to see what's to come out from the other side. I hope you join me in making the best of this time and what's to come.