Burden of Hope by Richard Schnap

As the candles melt into the cake

And the wishbone cracks into splinters

And each penny swallowed by the well

Only makes us one cent poorer

The road from cradle to coffin

Stays a journey we must take in the dark

Through a landscape drained of color

Where even the flowers seem grey

As we lift our eyes to the heaven

Hidden behind its webbing of stars

Asking once more for an answer

To the question a thousand words long

And as we find where we’re going

Is the same as where we began

We wrap ourselves in our shadows

To wait for a new sun to rise






Richard Schnap is a poet, songwriter and collagist living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His poems have most recently appeared locally, nationally and overseas in a variety of print and online publications.