Thankful for people who inspire and encourage me to hang on to hope, even if it’s just a sliver.


Still Here

It disappeared so quietly,
easing itself from solid form
into particles broken apart,
floating away a few at a time
as each new horror unfolded,
filling in with blocks of despair
where hope once dwelled.

More stable hands responded,
pulled escaping particles back toward center,
friends who refused to let my last few
scatter silently into the void.
Hope hangs now - not gone, not whole,
just a single fragile thread
tethered to the storm within.



Poetry by Melinda K Zarate The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 142 times
Written on 2026-08-07 at 16:08

Tags Hope  Friendship 

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Sameen The PoetBay support member heart!
This is a quietly powerful piece. The image of hope dissolving particle by particle while despair fills the gaps is strong, and the idea of friends pulling those escaping pieces back toward center gives the poem a gentle, earned turn. The final image of a single fragile thread tethered to a storm is honest about how precarious survival can feel. The poem is controlled and clear. It could push a little further into one specific horror or one specific friend's hands to make the abstraction more physical, but the weight of it already comes through. Still here, and that matters.
2026-08-25


Jamsbo Rockda The PoetBay support member heart!
Friends like that are lifelines. Hold on tight and I hope they help pull everything back together.
2026-08-08


Alan J Ripley The PoetBay support member heart!
I agree with Jim, Melinda.
Also you should never put yourself down,
You have such an amazing amount of friends
here on poetbay. Who love you for for being you.
2026-08-08


jim The PoetBay support member heart!
I was going to say it's lucky to have such friends, but it isn't luck, is it? It's cultivating those friendships, which isn't always easy. It's as much about giving as receiving.

I say this for myself as well as in response to your poem.
2026-08-07