This poem was composed by a young person very close to me. Simple but pleasant and I'd like to share it. The basis of the project was to poetically express their vision of the pain and suffering of Holocaust victims.

When all about you is black with gloom,

And all you feel is pending doom.

When your bones are racked with grim despair

When every breath is a gasp for air.

Keep on going, though you need to grope,

For around the bend is a ray of hope.

A ray of hope is perhaps all that's left,

As your will to live has  been bereft.

You've lost it all, it's just no use!

You can end it all, you need no excuse.

But throw away that piece of rope,

And give yourself a chance of hope.

Just give yourself another day,

Brushing aside what your thoughts may say.

This is your life and you can make a new start,

By ignoring the brain,  just follow the heart.

Taking baby steps in order to cope,

And minute by minute you'll build on your hope.

Build on your hope, one day at a time,

Through the road is dark, the sun will shine.

Hope

by Brian Quinn

When all about you is black with gloom,

And all you feel is pending doom.

When your bones are racked with grim despair -

When every breath is a gasp for air.

Keep on going, though you need to grope,

For around the bend is a ray of hope.

A ray of hope is perhaps all that's left,

As your will to live has been bereft.

You've lost it all, it's just no use!

You can end it all, you need no excuse.

But throw away that piece of rope,

And give yourself a chance of hope.

Just give yourself another day,

Brushing aside what your thoughts may say.

This is your life and you can make a new start,

By ignoring the brain - just follow the heart.

Taking baby steps in order to cope,

And minute by minute you'll build on your hope.

Build on your hope,. one day at a time,

Though the road be steep and hard to climb.

The hurts of the past - they should be dead.

The fears of the future are all in your head.

Just live in the present and refuse to mope

Your life will sparkle for you're living in hope

You see, when I read the poem you posted, allegedly by a young person close to you, and allegedly about the holocaust, I experienced a weird sense of deja vu. Some of the former addicts I worked with last year went through the 12 step programme, and they often liked to share poems or 'thoughts for the day' with the other service users. And this poem of yours sounded JUST like one read out last year.

So off I went to Google and, as I thought, the poem is by a guy called Brian Quinn and is about keeping hope even when in the depths of a chaotic addiction.

So...

Who's the bullsh*t artist?

You?

Or the kid?

If you..shame on you.

If the kid, they are a cheating wee bast*rd!!!!

and furthermore, it doesnt even make any contextual sense if it WAS a holocaust poem, whereas knowing it is about addiction, each line makes sense!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I look forward to your response... : )

Iain, without a doubt it's plagarism and I honor dedication for your explanation and pointing this out. However, we can not solely confine hope to simple addiction. For someone whose been through alot, whether it be self inflicted or beyond their control, the desire for hope can be a result of any disadvantage we may experience.

For those individuals who survived the holocaust, what's so peculiar about the fact that those individuals at some point of may have experience a lost sense of hope? Is that a bit forfetched?

However a drug counselor, like yourself, probably has seen the likes of various types of people from all walks of life without beam of hope. Alot of people are experiencing it today during this recession. Hell, let's just hope it all end soon.......

Respect to Scoop for replying and admitting he had suspicions too!!!

I think a certain young person will be getting confronted with some damning evidence soon!!!

Scoop mate, I agree with your point on hope; it is a great tool for humankind no matter what the source of despair. While I have read many stories of hope from holocaust survivors; incredible stories of survival and resilience, I still think this particualar poem does not contextually fit a holocaust experience.

I had the advantage of having first heard the poem within its original context, but reading it neutrally, the words could also be transferred to someone experiencing other distress, be it illness, family bereavement etc, and therein lies the strength of the words and emotions.

I hope the lil devil didn't win a prize for this lol.

Hey Iain, the'lly win a prize of another kind....lol. However, we can agree to disagree. We Americans recently were wishing(hoping) that we didn't have to endure another four years of miserable politics. But that's another story. Your points are valid and we'll find ourselves at another crossroad of disagreement once more, I promise.

Cheers

And that hope came true my friend...trust me, there was a lot of non Americans sharing that hope...

and dont think we have disagreed!!! think we more found common ground!!!

Definitely Iain. I'm going to post another tomorrow and let you investigate...lol.I just "hope" it isn't Poetic injustice.....

Very impressive poem:D