<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div><div><b>“Finding Hope”</b> by Pat A. Fleming</div><div><br></div><div>I've always viewed life from the side lines,</div><div>Just watching it passing me by.</div><div>In the past, too afraid to just let go and live,</div><div>And lately too tired to try.</div><div><br></div><div>I've envied the people around me</div><div>So invested in living each day,</div><div>While I spent my time hiding out from the world</div><div>And searching for ways to escape.</div><div><br></div><div>For most of my life I truly believed</div><div>I was here to help somebody else,</div><div>But now it's so clear it was just an excuse.</div><div>To avoid living life for myself.</div><div><br></div><div>It's sad that our lives and the pain we endure</div><div>Can weaken our strength to move on,</div><div>But if we get lost in the scars of our past,</div><div>Without knowing our lives will be gone.</div><div><br></div><div>It's true, people are disappointing,</div><div>They can turn in the blink of an eye,</div><div>But we can't avoid hurting each other,</div><div>When we all want a chance at this life.</div><div><br></div><div>But there's something I've learned through the wisdom of age,</div><div>A truth about all of our lives,</div><div>And that is no matter what path we each take,</div><div>In the end, we just want to survive.</div><div><br></div><div>So the time has now come to conquer my fears</div><div>And to stand up and face a new day.</div><div>Let the hurts of my past wash away with my tears</div><div>And stop letting my life slip away.</div></div><div><br></div>———————————————<br><br><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)</span></div><div><a href="http://www.moscowcares.com/" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000">http://www.MoscowCares.com</font></a></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tom Hansen</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Moscow, Idaho</span></div></div><div> </div></div></body></html>