THE BOOK OF HOPE

By Rado Gatchalian

THE BOOK OF HOPE

(A Meditation on Isolation)

By Rado Gatchalian

Perhaps if tomorrow’s sun 

Shall bring the sweetest light to you —

Now is the time to look at (for) your soul,

You listen, and you know,

You whisper, and you hope.

You may not endure this loneliness 

But always try to catch the silence 

Of the wind, of the soft voice of meadow.

Perhaps in this darkest hour

Some of you are dwindling like a dust,

And some, breaking into pieces,

And more, becoming like a stone:

Gazing at nowhere, and heartless like you.

If today — you feel you are alone

And no one with you but the moon,

Be still and speak as gently as a poem.

If this world is empty and lonely

Walk and speak to every leaf in the woods:

There is a shadow that speaks no fear.

You look beneath the rocks and you see only yourself:

Ask if what you see is who you are

Or is the image a forgotten remembrance

Of a vivid day when you were still young.

And when you find it, speak to him like a child.

Truthfully, strive to cherish this time,

For tomorrow life will be chasing again,

Then, it is too late to find contentment 

And reasons to live and be at peace.

Remember, silence is a virtue:

But only if it is spoken with love and by lovers.

And yes, in the stillness of the night

There is no truthful beauty but the stars.