I take hope in your presence
like an arm around my shoulders,

in your music that carries me
as air currents carry seagulls.

Hope says sweetness is coming.
Trust that better days will arrive.

Every day begins in sundown
and opens into brightness,

going from darkness to dawn.
To hope I open my heart wide.

I immerse in hope like living waters.
All I want is to immerse in you.

Every day begins in sundown... A Jewish day begins at sundown, which means that the natural trajectory of Jewish time is from darkness toward light.

I immerse in hope like living waters...immerse in you. The prophet Jeremiah, who lived in the seventh century BCE, wrote, מקוה ישראל ה׳ -- "God is the mikvah of Israel." (Jeremiah 17:13)  Another way to translate that quote from Jeremiah is "God is the hope of Israel." מקוה relates to תקווה. When we immerse in God, we also immerse in hope.

I'm participating again this year in #blogElul, an internet-wide carnival of themed posts aimed at waking the heart and soul before the Days of Awe. (Organized by Ima Bima.) Read #blogElul posts via the Elul tag; you might also enjoy my collection of Elul poems which arose out of #blogElul a few years ago, now available in print and e-book form as See Me: Elul poems.