I HOPE Someday You'll Meet Her.

Hope's the cruelest teacher
Making promises she
Can't keep,
She beats you up
And breaks you down
Until you're on the ground
And all you can do
Is weep.
Hope's the greatest giver
When it's her time to shine,
She'll give you everything
She has
And more, as long as
You promise to believe.
Hope's my greatest friend
And my worst enemy,
It may be cliché
But sometimes she is all
There is to keep me going
In this broken world.
Hope has torn every piece
In my heart to create
One more,
And she has laughed as
I've fallen weakly
And lay crying on the floor.
She's merciless
And priceless,
Rich and she's
Penniless.
Hope is not one
Ever to discriminate,
She doesn't care about
Who you are
Yet she knows every detail.
Hope is what drives me
On a cold morning
To face my reflection,
Hope is what pushes me
Out the door.
Hope is what brings me home
Again at night.
Hope is what sustains me
When I want so badly to
Give up the fight.
Sometimes I hate her
Brutality because it strikes me
Like a whip,
But regardless of how I feel
About her,
I am grateful everyday
For hope.
I would be nowhere without her,
My cruel, lovely teacher.
I hope someday you'll
Meet her and
You'll know just
What I mean.


I think this kind of goes along with the whole hopeful tone of the book, and with the message of "everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt." To me, it's representative of Billy in that there is always something there to give him the strength he needs to get through the day. Billy has seen what hope can do. There are times he has hoped for things and been disappointed, and other times hope has worked for him. That's why I kind of think this goes with the novel.