Hope

Haibun.Haibun, a Japanese style of poetry originating from the 17th century, is a combination of short prose or prose poem and includes a haiku.

 

 

Hope

 

Today, I felt that spring was promised.

The days are lengthening and the light has a different,

 more crystalline hue.

I even felt light-hearted walking more assuredly

with an intuitive feeling of something joyous happening.

Hope, that was the excited feeling,

I had hope, but I knew not what for, 

and my awareness became heightened at every little thing.

The trees still starkly naked had yet to awaken,

and there was snow on the untrodden pathways as I

felt the chill of winter blushing my cheeks.

Quietly i stepped on the virgin snow 

marvelling at the

 crispness of my step where i was first to 

tread in the shimmering silence.

When,

 there peeking out from their little beds of snow-pillows

 I found the innocent and pure promise of

the hope in my heart.

New beginnings, rebirth, but most of all hope.

The first snowdrops.

 

 

First to awaken

peeking through green coverlets

sleepy white snowdrops

 

 

 

© Stella Armour 2025

 

Reviews

[A.H.]

I like the treatment here, so delicate and full of warmth. I have been enjoying the snowfall, with snow showers every week. this is a perfect read for me. I like the way you tied the write with hope and new beginnings. seasons are beautiful and they evoke excitement within us and takes us on a trip of making memories. These lines were stand out for me, so well expressed.
"New beginnings, rebirth, but most of all hope.
The first snowdrops."
Enjoyed reading this write, thanks for sharing Stella.

[Stella Armour]

A lovely review A.H.
Snow, even though colourless really and cold to touch still evokes something magical in all of us, those tiny crystals of ice and the delicate flakes dancing as the fall... and of course the snowdrops .

[A.H.]

You're very welcome, Stella. That's true, Snow times are magical :)

[Beren]

Amazing starting, and it flows like a spring season. I love the imagery so much! So powerful, readers can see the story in their minds. I love the way how more than one thing explained in a very rich way; hope's meaning, seasons, spring and winter, snow… POWERFUL! Wow! I am obsessed with this one

[Stella Armour]

Thank you so much Beren, i am pleased that you enjoyed it :)

[Betty Hermelee]

I too have hope and excitement that warmth is on it's way...i love long days and short nights and soon we will have that...yet the silence of snow is indeed a wonder and beautiful....and sometimes breathing in that crisp air is energizing... your chosen words are perfect for this lovely poem Stella.
Warmly, B

[Stella Armour]

Good morning Betty and thank you so much for your lovely review. ..

Stella

[Betty Hermelee]

my distinct pleasure Stella🌷🌷🌷
Warmly
B

[John the Baptist]

A very descriptive retelling of a delightful experience and an education for me. I did not know what a snowdrop is.

[Stella Armour]

Hi John , the tiny snowdrop is said to represent new beginnings as it is the first flower to appear in January amidst the snow and brings hope for the new year just beginning.

[Chris Shaw]

Fine poetry dear Stella. Choice of vocabulary and description absolutely top notch. It’s not only the snowdrops that awaken with spring. I believe we do too. After hibernating in winter, I am ready to step out:) Loved this poem.

Chris

[Stella Armour]

Thank you Chris and yes we do awaken as you say with the freshness in the air and so much hope ..read moreThank you Chris and yes we do awaken as you say with the freshness in the air and so much hope ..
Cold and frosty here but the air is pure and the sun shining .
Stella

[Ookpik]

Ah, this is beautiful, Stella - I've been of the same mind lately, granted, where I live snow still falls readily and it won't be until April that the flora starts to wake back up.

That said, if you'd spare me a tangent, I've a little anecdote you might get a kick out of.

This time last year I was working in a small community in Northern Canada (Yukon communities are notoriously isolated, with high first-nations populations and scores of pervasive social issues that coincide with CA's residential school history).

Anyways, around February the temperature plummeted (-40 C). It gets so cold that the moisture in the air freezes and a kind of mist hangs out about the woods and over town (ice fog, they call it). And you'd think, with such desolate temps that all traces of life would disappear.

I went for a walk on one of these days, assuming silence, but was pleasantly surprised to hear the occasional chirp of songbirds - the ones that stay locally throughout winter. The big ravens would huddle around their plumage beside the gas-station, picking at scraps from a cheap diner, but the songbirds would keep to the woods - dancing through icy tree-tops and chirping secret jokes between themselves as they moved.

It was as cold as I've ever experienced it (and I was shivering under my parka) but there they were, in spring feathers, whistling as though it were any other Sunday.

Anyways, I suppose the lesson in that is that even on the coldest days, spring remains - such is the case with hope - a little thing with feathers that asks not a crumb despite enduring life's greatest storms.

Apologies for the long review, but I thought your poem warranted a little tale. : )

-Ook

[Stella Armour]

Person after my own heart Ook, always looking for the little things other don't seem to notice. Looking up as well as down , mesmerized by mother nature's skills.I always wonder where the small birds hang out in freezing weather and how the little robin stays so cheeky hopping about and getting himself noticed .... loved your review

Stella

[Ookpik]

Hah! I think in the depths of winter, the cheeky sparrow wants as much to go unnoticed as he does to be quietly seen - I suspect their secret joke had to do with the sudden absence of foxes, hawks or ravens.

Though cold enough to keep the hunters to ground, it wasn't cold enough for the birds to laugh about it in their absence. : )

Glad you enjoyed,

[Poetic Beauty]

It is amazing how a little added warmth and the days becoming longer renew our spirits; giving us hope and joy. There is some about the sun becoming warmer and the days slightly longer that we feel deep within our beings. A silent unspoken renewal of senses and dormant instinct.

Love the last stanza about the snowdrops peaking out from under a blanket of white

[Stella Armour]

Thank you PB,
the prose part is new but the haiku at the end is from my rather large collection of haiku in my archives.

[Poetic Beauty]

I completely enjoyed the warmth and happiness this poem gave me

[Stella Armour]

Thank you :)