Menlo Park Rotary Scholars

These Hopeful Days

A Community Poem by Menlo Park Rotary Scholars, curated by San Mateo County Poet Laureate Aileen Cassinetto (Prompt: “I Hope”)

I hold on 

to what springs eternal, 

like a thing with feathers

perching on a twig, 

on the lookout

for an audacity of red-

hued daylilies. 

I hope for my furry friend 

to get better.

I hope to help my family

who hopes to give back 

to my community

who hopes to live freely.

I hope to reach my goals 

to never give up

to have a happy life.

I hope people can have 

inner peace

so we can be happy

so we can learn to treat 

each other with kindness

so we can save 

and protect our planet

so we can live 

and hope together.

Days like this

bring you back, 

like a thing with feathers,

perching, more wondrous.