Anna Khoo

Hope

Hope

Slips in at the end of a long day

and sits with me

in the stillness for a while

Looks me in the eye

I wonder, what he seeks in me

that we meet like this

at the ending of things

I have nothing to offer

this welcome guest

save echoes of laughter and tears

we wait a while

for those to subside

and still hope is here

I know it happens every day somehow

that hope finds me

I do not know why

He does not leave

as the last tears fall

as I unburden my soul

Hope looks for me

and I am found

and we wait together for the morning to come

Anna Khoo is a data journalist who started on a newspaper and poked at some numbers one day. She’s now at the Office for National Statistics. Aside from writing, she enjoys playing piano, singing, park walks, and chats over tea. She lives in Hampshire with her two axolotls.