Digging up old words...

 Okay here's something I wrote awhile ago. Not my best work but hey, who cares.

               "Hope"

Upon a beach of shifting sand,
I stand and gaze across the sea
To find within the gray expanse,
An island from my memory.

 My mind and heart recall the place,
A land of beauty, shaped by man
With bravery and sacrifice,
Compasion and a steady hand.

 Built amidst the violent wash
Of waves that breed uncertainty,
It grew upon foundations moored
In Freedom, Strength, and Liberty.

 Then as I awake from this,
My dream of vivid memory,
I see across the growing swells
The object of my revery.

It stands alone, still firmly bound,
Majestic on it's sturdy throne
But weathered, beaten, scarred by woe,
And threatened by a coming storm.

 I turn my eyes away from this,
Spilling tears upon the shore
And in so doing, happen on
Something unknown to me before.

Along the strand a crowd had formed
Of ever growing number,
And in the faces of the throng
I saw their raging hunger.

They looked out on the island,
As I had done before
Steadily they raised their voices,
Challenging the growing storm.

And I looked again to sea,
My heart was swole with pride.
A ray of light had broke the storm
And touched upon the isle.