With optimism, you look upon the sunny side of things. People say, 'Studs, you're an optimist.' I never said I was an optimist. I have hope because what's the alternative to hope? Despair? If you have despair, you might as well put your head in the oven.
quote by Studs Terkel
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But Don't Despair
Despair, if you must –
But how's it going to pull you through?
Despair, when you trust
Naught since then there's naught to do.
Despair, should you thrust
Aside your pride, your self-esteem.
And so despair, if it's dust,
The only substance that you deem.
Despair, when a gust
Of slightly breeze can break your stance.
And do despair, when lust
Is your interpretation of romance.
But don't despair, if you can care
About the plight of any other being.
And you can focus on the help,
Support, and altruistic further actions
For the seeing. Be believing,
As despair will start receding
All around – simply since you found
A way to steer you clear
From this: the very cause of your despair!
So give to others; give them all a helping lift:
Despair, you'll find will disappear –
And that has got to be a well-deserved
And saintly gift!
Copyright © Mark R Slaughter 2009
Rain of despair
despair despair despair despair despair despair despair
despair despair despair despair despair despair despair
despair despair despair despair despair despair despair
despair despair despair despair despair despair despair
despair despair despair despair despair despair despair
despair despair despair despair despair despair despair
despair despair despair despair despair despair despair
poem by Mark R Slaughter
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Sonnet XXVI: I Ever Love
To Despair
I ever love where never hope appears,
Yet hope draws on my never-hoping care,
And my life's hope would die, but for despair;
My never-certain joy breeds ever-certain fears;
Uncertain dread gives wings unto my hope,
Yet my hope's wings are laden so with fear
As they cannot ascend to my hope's sphere;
Though fear gives them more than a heav'nly scope,
Yet this large room is bounded with despair;
So my love is still fetter'd with vain hope,
And liberty deprives him of his scope,
And thus am I imprison'd in the air.
Then, sweet despair, awhile hold up thy head,
Or all my hope for sorrow will be dead.
poem by Michael Drayton
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Gen Despair
Despair -
When hope is snuffed out like a guttering candle.
Despair -
When hope is sadistically excised with surgical precision.
Despair -
When hope is torn from a half-living body in huge gobbets
By rapacious beaks and ravening teeth.
Despair -
When hope is annihilated.
poem by Mill Field
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There is only one optimist. He has been here since man has been on this earth, and that is man himself. If we hadn't had such a magnificent optimism to carry us through all these things, we wouldn't be here. We have survived it on our optimism.
quote by Edward Steichen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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My Despair Comes And Goes
My Despair comes and goes
It is not the ultimate despair,
The despair of those who have forever lost hope
The despair of those who have lost what they never will regain
The despair of those for whom there is no way out
No way to begin again
No hope in any way forever
My Despair comes and goes
It is a small Despair compared to many others
When I am in it of course
I believe it like theirs Hopeless forever hopeless
But then a new day begins,
Or a friendly voice says a friendly word
Or something good and positive happens
Or the weather changes
Or some hurt goes away
Some sign comes
And slowly slowly
I am not there anymore.
My Despair comes and goes
It is not the worst Despair
Not yet-
Yesterday I was in Despair
Today I am almost already not
I pray my writing this
Will help some despairing reader feel
They too will hope again.
poem by Shalom Freedman
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Despair Of The Early Morning
DESPAIR OF THE EARLY MORNING
Despair of the early morning
Despair of the darkness
Despair of the Despair
Despair of Old Age
Despair of the road closed
Despair of nothing to do
Despair of nowhere to go
Despair of endless errands
Despair of money running out
Despair of the message of Despair
One transmits to those one loves.
Despair that has to be resisted
Despair that the light of the day
Will help me overcome
Despair I will pray my way out of
Despair I will in the course of the day
Sometime overcome.
Not the great Despair
The unending Despair
The final Despair.
The small Despair of who I am and where I am now.
The Despair that still can be resisted,
By the writing of a few awkward lines
Early in the morning.
poem by Shalom Freedman
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A pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun - and neither can stop the march of events.
quote by Robert Heinlein
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I am an optimist, unrepentant and militant. After all, in order not to be a fool an optimist must know how sad a place the world can be. It is only the pessimist who finds this out anew every day.
quote by Peter Ustinov
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I'm an optimist, but an optimist who carries a raincoat.
quote by Harold Wilson
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Despair Is Darkness
DESPAIR IS DARKNESS
Despair is darkness-
Despair is death inside and death in the world and death in one’s own sad soul-
Despair is no way out -
Despair is the place where one is forever stuck -
Despair is the realization that one has done what one could – and one is not going anywhere else-
Despair is the admission of failure-
Despair is no sign of help anywhere around-
Despair is so much lost-
Despair is one‘s life is over-
Despair is regret-
Despair is the sense that one will never have the time to have another chance -
Despair is ‘it’s finished’-
Despair is no way out-
Despair is going down and more down and more dark and more afraid all the time -
Despair is the scream which hurts and does not stop the hurting -
Despair is the understanding that even Death will not save one -
Despair is that the pain will never end-not even with death.
Despair is no way out again and again and again- without end.
poem by Shalom Freedman
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I think it's realistic to have hope. One can be a perverse idealist and say the easiest thing: 'I despair. The world's no good.' That's a perverse idealist. It's practical to hope, because the hope is for us to survive as a human species. That's very realistic.
quote by Studs Terkel
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Happiness is a Shark
Happiness is a shark,
Swimming in the deep
Dimension of the dark
Drifting duffel of sleep.
Decay of despair;
Hardness of hope.
Happiness is a crow,
Hiding in the thicket,
Or flying in a row
At a drizzly sunset.
Drought of despair;
Hunger of hope.
Happiness is a rose,
On the tree of duty,
A smiling verse in prose
Of halcyon beauty.
Dust of despair
Honey of hope.
poem by Paul Hartal
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Don't ever become a pessimist... a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun, and neither can stop the march of events.
quote by Robert A. Heinlein
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The difference between an optimist and a pessimist? An optimist laughs to forget, but a pessimist forgets to laugh.
quote by Tom Bodett
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I do believe that most men live lives of quiet desperation. For despair, optimism is the only practical solution. Hope is practical. Because eliminate that and it's pretty scary. Hope at least gives you the option of living.
quote by Harry Nilsson
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Always the eternal optimist, President Reagan instilled confidence and optimism at a time both were in short supply in our country.
quote by Jim Ramstad
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I'm very much an optimist. I don't think I could do my work if I didn't believe there was some kind of hope for humanity.
quote by Sandra Bernhard
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Hope Again
HOPE AGAIN
Hope again.
What are without Hope?
If we cannot Hope
We cannot live.
And what do we need to hope for?
A small thing?
A crust of bread?
Any dream that helps us believe in ourselves again?
The morning light-
Beauty Truth Goodness.
A word of kindness.
Love true Love.
The greatest and the smallest things.
Hope gives us life
We need hope to live
Thank God for all the times in my life when unending despair ended
And Hope has begun again.
poem by Shalom Freedman
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Optimism is not inherently a superior way of viewing the world. Certainly doctors will say it might be better for one's physical health to be an optimist. But, morally speaking it may not be appropriate in certain circumstances.
quote by Todd Solondz
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A New Hope
Just another day has begun,
For billions of souls
And the unachieved Goals
Hope is like a dream
Can make you achieve extreme
Hope gives you the strength
And reminds you that events will turn out for the best
Hope makes you believe
In all the things that you can achieve
Hope encourages you to be creative
It broadens our perspective
Hope is like a light
It takes away all the fright
Hope removes the blinders of fear and despair
All the things that can be unfair
Hope makes you see the big picture
And will always be your well wisher
Hope is essential
And it will end your entire struggle
Hope is a voice inside
And it gives you a sigh
Hope is for everyone
For you, for me and for the entire universe
Like the little engine that keep saying
'I think I can, I think I can'
Achieve more than you can plan
So let's hope for the best
And destiny will take care of the rest
poem by Leena Ajay Pimple
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