For these fitful nights, love must bear the blame --
But is sleeplessness not part of love's game?
What's left but to entreat the heedless air?
(That useless prattle, also known as prayer)

A heart that's plagued with unspeakable pain
Will cry out to Heaven, time and again.
What recourse have I, teetering on the edge,
With no one to talk me down from the ledge?

Loneliness becomes a nightmarish realm
Where I drift alone . . . no one at the helm;
Then Hope throws the line that pulls me ashore
And rescues me from despair's tidal bore

At times I tire of Hope's uplifted eyes,
And its surfeit of well-intentioned lies;
More than once I've been tempted to ignore
The shining outlook Hope brings to my door

But Hope never mocks my relentless quest
For love, but fans its embers in my breast;
If not for Hope, despair would defeat me,
Bringing dread when the dawn comes to greet me

For when I find bitter thoughts taking hold,
Weakening my will, urging me to fold,
You can bet Hope will  knock upon my door,
And I can't help but answer . . . just once more