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In the words of Emily Dickinson, “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words – and never stops at all.” Framing far-reaching global concerns through the imagined lens of her grandchildren, this week’s featured poet, Lila Taylor of Charlotte, reaffirms the necessity of maintaining hope in times like these to propel us toward a more just, stable future.
100 years from now
By Lila Taylor, 17, of Charlotte
In 100 years, when
my future children have children,
I hope that they grow up
in a world that is kinder than this one.
I don’t mean kinder
as in softer or less hardworking,
I mean kinder as in
more understanding,
less closeminded,
and more open to change.
I hope that they grow up
in a world that is not plagued
by hate
and frustration,
violence
and despair.
I hope that communities
are more diverse by then
in every way possible,
and that they’re less segregated.
I close my eyes and I try
to dream of a world for them
in which our differences do not
so often divide us as a human race.
A world where we all
listen to each other,
where we are constantly trying
to do right by each other, and
bridge the gaps created by history.
A world where it doesn’t matter
what color skin you have,
or whether you’re born a boy
or a girl.
A world where love
is just seen as love,
no matter who it’s between.
A world in which the policing system
in this country, as a whole,
truly protects all Americans,
not just those with white skin,
and in which the American Dream
is truly an equal possibility
for everyone who lives in this country.
A world where social class
doesn’t divide us so intensely.
I hope that by then,
when 100 years have passed,
this world will truly have changed
for the better, in a dramatic way.
I hope that our Earth
isn’t so polluted by then
that my grandbabies will never know
what it’s like to play in the snow.
I pray that by then
we will have found a solution
to climate change,
and I pray that by then
there will be more equality
in this country
and in this world.
