Thomas Hardy, ‘Song of Hope’. Hardy (1840-1928) is not known for his hopeful poems.

Indeed, he famously coined the word ‘unhope’ in his despairing poem ‘In Tenebris’ to reflect his
lack of this feeling. Yet here, in this songlike poem, Hardy looks to a brighter tomorrow than
today has proved to be: ‘O sweet To-morrow! – / After to-day / There will away / This sense of
sorrow. / Then let us borrow / Hope, for a gleaming / Soon will be streaming, / Dimmed by no
gray – / No gray!’

A. E. Housman, ‘Spring Morning’. ‘Star and coronal and bell / April underfoot renews, / And
the hope of man as well / Flowers among the morning dews.’ Spring is a time of hope and new
beginnings, and Housman – not exactly the most optimistic of poets – here offers a tender plea
that this link between springtime and hope will be honoured. Because ‘lovers should be loved
again.’

Carl Sandburg, ‘Hope is a Tattered Flag’. Published in Sandburg’s 1936 collection The
People, which features poems all about America, ‘Hope is a Tattered Flag’ takes up Emily
Dickinson’s idea of trying to find the perfect metaphor for hope (‘Hope is …’), with Sandburg
offering not one but many possible images which sum up America.

Maya Angelou, ‘Still I Rise’. This wonderfully self-assertive poem about picking yourself up
and striving to achieve, even in the face of adversity, was used for an advertising campaign by
the UNCF in the US, but its message of selfhood and determination – and hope that one can
succeed – is a message that should be heard by all.