Pandora
Location
My name is Hope Magee
And I hate my name
I hate my name because people make fun of me for it
There's always a joke in there
And everybody's got a pun.
I hate my name because people always get it wrong
They call me Faith
Or Holly.
Pretty much any word that sounds like a name.
I hate my name because people
Always forget to capitalize it.
But more than my hatred is my love.
I love my name.
I love my name because it is the name my mother gave me.
It is the name she gifted me before my birth
And it is part of what helps people remember me
Between my name and my hair
People rarely forget having met me.
But more than that.
I love my name because
To me
The word hope does not describe a feeling
Or a wish
It is not a placeholder for a dream
That will never come true.
To me
The word hope describes something
More than a force of nature
More powerful than a hurricane
More violent than an earthquake
More dazzling than a sunset
And more comforting than
the quiet blanket of 2 a.m.
I want to tell you a story.
The story of Pandora.
In days of old, the woman Pandora
released some of the most deadly
things known to humans.
She released
War
Famine
Disease
Pain
And Fear.
However, nothing she released
was more deceitful
Or more heartless
than me.
I am always there.
You cannot be truly defeated,
You cannot be irreparably broken,
With me standing next to you.
But be warned:
I build you up to the highest point;
Only to stand back and watch you fall,
And then, when you lie at the base of your pedestal -
Bleeding and heartbroken -
I will lift you up again.
I am ever present.
I am ever lasting.
I will never die.
Because my name falls from your lips
Almost daily.
Because you can't live without me.
I am eternal.
I am faithful.
I will always come back.
Because there's one thing that you don't need to look for,
Because one thing will find you;
Wherever you are,
Whatever you're doing.
There's nothing quite like it.
There's nothing quite like
Hope.