37 Poems about Hope

Uplifting poems offering comfort, strength, and encouragement through the power of hope.

Hope is the anticipation and expectation that things will get better.

Short Poems & Quotes  |   Poems of Encouragement  |   Poems about Hope

Updated March 25, 2025, by Catherine Pulsifer


Hope is something we all need—especially during life’s toughest moments. These short poems about hope are meant to remind you that no matter what you’re going through, you should never give up. Hard times come to everyone, but with hope in our hearts, we find the strength to keep going.

There are moments when things don’t turn out the way we planned. We feel discouraged, and it’s easy to believe there’s no other way forward. But hope tells us otherwise. Hope helps us believe that better days are ahead, even when we can't see them yet.

Let these poems lift your spirit. Let their words encourage your heart. And most of all, may they remind you that no matter how dark today may seem, there is always light to be found—through hope and faith.



  1. Never Let Go of Hope

    Poet: Jancarl Campi

    One day
    you will see
    that it all
    has finally come together.

    What you have
    always wished for
    has finally come to be.

    You will look back
    and laugh at what has passed
    and you will ask yourself,
    "How did I get through all of that?"

    Just never let go of hope.
    Just never quit dreaming.
    And never let love
    depart from your life.



  2. never let go of hope
    Never Give Up Poem



  3. Hope Is Better

    Poet: Martin Tupper

    Never go gloomy, man with a mind,
    Hope is a better companion than fear;
    Providence, ever benignant and kind,
    Gives with a smile what you take with a tear;
    All will be right,
    Look to the light.
    Morning was ever the daughter of night;
    All that was black will be all that is bright,
    Cheerily, cheerily, then cheer up.

    Many a foe is a friend in disguise,
    Many a trouble a blessing most true,
    Helping the heart to be happy and wise,
    With love ever precious and joys ever new.
    Stand in the van,
    Strike like a man!
    This is the bravest and cleverest plan;
    Trusting in God while you do what you can.
    Cheerily, cheerily, then cheer up.




  4. Hope

    Poet:  Max Ehrmann

    Deny me all the good of earth —
    All joy and soul-rebounding mirth,
    All wealth and rank and love's great days;
    But leave one thing by which to cope
    With ebbing life's dim evening rays —
    Leave me but hope.



  5. hope is the thing with feathers
    Famous Poems About Life



  6. Hope Is The Thing With Feathers

    Poet: 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 -

    And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
    And sore must be the storm -
    That could abash the little Bird
    That kept so many warm -

    I've heard it in the chillest land -
    And on the strangest Sea -
    Yet - never - in Extremity,
    It asked a crumb - of me.




  7. No Nation Can Hope

    Poet: Roy L. Smith

    No nation can hope -
    For prosperity so long as millions are denied opportunity.
    For peace that does not cultivate the goodwill of other nations.
    For honor which does not respect other nation's honor.
    For safety which does not deal openly with other nations.
    For international respect which does not respect international opinion.
    For profitable trade which undertakes to get all the profits.
    For permanence which defies the moral order of the universe.




  8. Don't Let The Song Go Our Of Your Life

    Poet: Kate R. Stiles

    Don't let the song go out of your life;
    Though it chance sometimes to flow
    In a minor strain, it will blend again
    With the major tone, you know.
    What though shadows rise to obscure life's skies,
    And hide for a time the sun;
    They sooner will lift, and reveal the rift,
    If you let the melody run.

    Don't let the song go out of your life;
    Ah! it never would need to go.
    If with thought more true and a broader view
    We looked at this life below.
    Oh! Why should we moan that life's springtime has flown,
    Or sigh for the fair summer time?
    The autumn hath days filled with paeans of praise.
    And the winter hath bells that chime.




  9. Positive Hope

    Poet: Catherine Pulsifer, ©2020

    We can lose many things in life
    We may find we have had our share of strife
    But the one thing you never want to lose
    Is your hope, you get to choose.

    You can stay focused on the negative today
    You can blame others in every way
    But at the end of it all,
    Our hope will prevent us from a fall.

    You see focusing on things will get better
    Will keep our lives centered
    To look forward with positive hope
    Rather than sit around and mope.



  10. To look forward with positive hope Rather than sit around and mope.
    Positive Poems




  11. Every Day

    Poet: Unknown

    Every day is a fresh beginning,
    Every morn is the world made new;
    You who are weary of sorrow and sinning.
    Here is a beautiful hope for you;
    A hope for me and a hope for you.




  12. Good Time Comin'

    Poet Unknown

    Thank the Lord,
    If today has sorrow
    We can live in hope
    Of a bright tomorrow!
    And still find peace
    When the storm is hummin',
    An' sweet release
    In the good time comin'!




  13. Singing Through The Rain

    Poet: Luella Clark

    O Robin, singing through the rain,
    How welcome is thy clear refrain,
    The tempest trying all in vain
    To cheat thee of thy song!
    What cheerfulness, by pain unspent.
    What gladness born of calm content.
    Unto thy strain belong.

    Let sinking hearts, taught by thy strain,
    Learn, too, to triumph over pain.
    And, like thee, singing in the rain
    A song of hope and cheer.




  14. Sunny Soul

    Poet: M. A. Kidder

    To the sunny soul that is full of hope,
    And whose beautiful trust ne'er faileth,
    The grass is green, and the flowers are bright.
    Though the wintry storm prevaileth.




  15. Hope Never Slumbers Long

    Poet: Anna J. Granniss

    Not even Hope can always soar and sing;
    Sometimes she needs must rest a willing wing.
    And wait in midst of her glad carolling.

    Faint not, dear heart, though she rest over night -
    Her wings are swifter than the wings of light;
    They're gaining strength for more enduring flight.

    Fret not because her voice is sometimes still;
    It may be catching some new lilt or thrill;
    She'll sing again, all of her own sweet will.

    Perhaps when worn with pain, in darkened room.
    Denied the light, the beauty, and the bloom,
    You'll see a little rift within the gloom;

    Then hear a stir, as of unfolding wings;
    And low, sweet notes, as one who tries the strings
    In tender prelude just before he sings.

    And wakened Hope, grown vigorous and strong.
    Will then surprise the silence with a song -
    Keep a brave heart, Hope never slumbers long.




  16. Do Something

    Poet: Lucy Larcom

    If the world seems cool to you,
    Kindle fires to warm it!
    Let their comfort hide from you
    Winters that deform it.
    Hearts as frozen as your own
    To that radiance gather;
    You will soon forget to moan,
    "Ah! the cheerless weather! "

    If the world's a "vale of tears,"
    Smile till rainbows span it;
    Breathe the love that life endears
    Clear from clouds to fan it.
    Of your gladness lend a gleam
    Unto souls that shiver;
    Show them how dark sorrow's stream
    Blends with hope's bright river.




  17. If the world seems cool to you, Kindle fires to warm it! Let their comfort hide from you Winters that deform it.
    Christian Poems of Comfort




  18. His Hope With All

    Poet: Mary H. Houghton

    The night is mother of the day,
    The winter of the spring;
    And even upon old decay
    The greenest mosses cling.

    Behind the cloud the starlight lurks;
    Through showers the sunbeams fall;
    For God, who loveth all His works.
    Hath left His hope with all.




  19. Ray Of Hope

    Poet: Celia Thaxter

    There is no day so dark.
    But through the murk some ray of hope may steal.
    Some blessed touch from heaven, that we may feel
    If we but choose to mark.

    We shut the portals fast
    And turn the key, and let no sunshine in;
    Yet the worst despair that comes through sin
    God's light shall reach at last.




  20. Hope

    Poet: Unknown

    'Tis better to hope, though clouds hang low,
    And keep the eyes uplifted,
    For the sweet blue sky will soon peep through,
    When the ominous clouds are rifted.

    There was never a night without a day,
    Or an evening without a morning.
    And the darkest hour, as the proverb goes,
    Is the hour before the dawning.




  21. Words Of Strength

    Poet: Friedrich Schiller

    There are three lessons I would write,
    Three words as with a burning pen,
    In tracings of eternal light,
    Upon the hearts of men.

    Have hope. Though clouds environ now,
    And gladness hides her face in scorn,
    Put thou the shadow from thy brow;
    No night but hath its morn.

    Have faith. Where'er thy bark is driven -
    The calm's disport, the tempest's mirth -
    Know this: God rules the hosts of heaven,
    The inhabitants of earth.

    Have love - not love alone for one,
    But man as man thy brother call,
    And scatter like the circling sun
    Thy charities on all.

    Thus grave these lessons on thy soul -
    Hope, Faith, and Love - and thou shalt find
    Strength when life's surges rudest roll,
    Light when thou else wert blind.




  22. Four-Leaf Clovers

    Poet: Unknown

    I know a place where the sun is like gold,
    And the cherry-blooms burst forth with snow;
    And down underneath is the loveliest nook,
    Where the four-leaf clovers grow.

    One leaf is for hope, - and one is for faith,
    And one is for love, you know;
    And God put another one in for luck:
    If you search you will find where they grow.

    But you must have hope, and you must have faith,
    You must love and be strong; and so,
    If you work, if you wait, you will find the place
    Where the four-leaf clovers grow.




  23. But you must have hope, and you must have faith
    Poems About Faith




  24. The End Of The Rope

    Poet: Margaret Nickerson Martin

    When you’ve lost every vestige of hope
    And you think you are beaten and done,
    When you’ve come to the end of your rope,
    Tie a knot in the end and hang on.

    Have courage; for here is the dope:
    When you stand with your back to the wall,
    Though you’ve come to the end of your rope
    Tie a knot in the end and hang on.

    Don’t admit that life’s getting your goat
    When your friends seem to all disappear,
    When you’ve come to the end of your rope,
    Tie a knot in the end and hang on.




  25. When you’ve come to the end of your rope, Tie a knot in the end and hang on.
    Optimistic Poems




  26. Hope Blossoms Eternally

    Poet: David V. Bush

    We some times long for things we cannot own:
    Our hopes to do and dare, our spurs to win
    Are all be-decked with crepe in every zone,
    Appreciated not by kith or kin.

    How I have longed for home and children there
    To greet me as I draw toward my home,
    But home's a suite of humble rooms, most bare,
    My children, all but one, sleep 'neath God's dome.

    Ideals are but the shadows of the past,
    My aims and efforts, buried low and deep,
    But somehow yet my faith still holds me fast,
    Tho tired and worn, a star of hope I keep.

    There always seems a light just on, a ways,
    Some thing for which we long, and crave and strive
    As traveling on thru life's perplexing maze,
    A flicker of old hope is still alive.

    Do what I will, succeed or fail is all
    A part of life's perplexing, winding way,
    And whether hopes rise high or whether fall,
    I do my best and slowly plod each day.

    And when I see for me life's crown is small.
    My efforts, all my plans, my hopes are vain
    And buried for a time my zeal - I fall -
    My child I see and hope springs up again.

    And so it is, and ever more shall be,
    We hope, we try, we do, we plan, we strive,
    Whether for us there comes the victory,
    Our hope, our faith in scions' still alive.

    So give not up, O weary soul, be brave!
    Weave manly, well, tho 'tis your life's last strand,
    We see a star of hope beyond the grave;
    Perhaps we’ll finish there what we began.




  27. A Hope

    Poet: Unknown

    The past is not, — the hues in which 'tis drest
    Fond memory supplies;
    The future is not, — hope-born in the breast
    Its fancied joys arise;
    The present is not, — like the lightning's gleam
    Its brief illusions seem;
    This is the life allotted unto man,
    A memory, - a hope, - a fleeting moment's span.




  28. Hope Child

    Poet: Victor Hugo

    Hope, child, to-morrow hope, and then again to-morrow,
    And then to-morrow still!
    Trust in a future day.
    Hope, and each morn the skies new light from dawn shall borrow;
    As God is there to bless, let us be there to pray.




  29. Hope, child, to-morrow hope, and then again to-morrow, And then to-morrow still! Trust in a future day.
    Poems About The Future




  30. What We Hope

    Poet: James Russell Lowell

    To change and change is life;
    To move and never rest;
    Not what we are,
    But what we hope, is best.




  31. Abound In Hope

    Poet: Benjamin H. Kennedy

    Hope, Christian soul! in every stage
    Of this thine earthly pilgrimage,
    Let heavenly joy thy thoughts engage;
    Abound in hope.
    Hope through the watches of the night;
    Hope till the morrow brings the light;
    Hope till thy faith be lost in sight;
    Abound in hope.




  32. Sadder Fate - Never Hope

    Poet: Unknown

    To touch a broken lute,
    To strike a jangled string,
    To strive with tones forever mute
    The dear old tunes to sing
    What sadder fate could any heart befall?
    Alas! dear child, never to sing at all.

    To sigh for pleasures flown,
    To weep for withered flowers,
    To count the blessings we have known,
    Lost with the vanished hours
    What sadder fate could any heart befall?
    Alas! dear child, ne'er to have known them all.

    To dream of love and rest,
    To know the dream has past,
    To bear within an aching breast
    Only a void at last
    What sadder fate could any heart befall?
    Alas! dear child, ne'er to have loved at all.

    To trust an unknown good,
    To hope, but all in vain,
    Over a far-off bliss to brood,
    Only to find it pain
    What sadder fate could any soul befall?
    Alas! dear child, never to hope at all.




  33. Look Forward

    Poet: Patience Strong

    Look forward and your hopes will rise
    Look forward!
    Though stormy clouds frown in the skies.
    Look forward!
    The steps of Time you can’t retrace
    Press onward at an eager pace
    Towards some finer, fairer place
    Look forward!

    Look forward with a hopeful mind.
    Look forward!
    Resolve to leave the past behind.
    Look forward!
    You can’t afford to let your gaze
    Turn back to rest on other days.
    Down brighter, better, broader ways.
    Look forward!




  34. Hope

    Poet: Schiller

    Oh! hope's not a simple, a meaningless name,
    Within the fool's brains generated:
    The heart ever burns in loud notes to proclaim
    For purposes grand we're created.
    Whenever the innermost voice aught repeats,
    The soul, in its longings, that voice never cheats.




  35. The Road Of Life Is Hard

    Poet: Mrs. Craik

    O New-Year, teach us faith!
    The road of life is hard:
    When our feet bleed, and scourging winds us scath,
    Point thou to Him whose visage was more marred
    Than any man's, who saith,
    "Make straight paths for your feet," and, to the opprest,
    "Come to me, and I will give you rest."

    Yet hang some lamp-like hope
    Above this unknown way,
    Kind year, to give our spirits freer scope,
    And our hands strength to work while it is day.
    But if that way must slope
    Tombward, oh bring before our fading eyes
    The lamp of life, the hope that never dies!




  36. Sunshine and Rain

    Poet Charles H. Gabriel

    Had we only sunshine all the year around,
    Without the blessing of refreshing rain,
    Would we scatter seed upon the fallow ground.
    And hope to gather flowers, fruit, and grain?

    Had we not a sorrow or a cross to bear,
    For Him who bears the burden of our sin,
    Would we know the sweetness of His love and care,
    Or even strive eternal life to win?

    Can we prize the sunshine and deplore the rain.
    Repining when the days are dark and drear?
    Can we hope for pleasure, yet deny the pain.
    Or share the joys of life without the tear




  37. Hopeful people are those who have the courage to trust God and his promises, even when the odds seem against them. Rick Warren
    Christian Poems Of Hope




  38. To Hope

    Poet: John Keats

    When by my solitary hearth I sit,
    When no fair dreams before my ‘mind’s eye’ flit,
    And the bare heath of life presents no bloom;
    Sweet Hope, ethereal balm upon me shed,
    And wave thy silver pinions o’er my head.

    Whene’er I wander, at the fall of night,
    Where woven boughs shut out the moon’s bright ray,
    Should sad Despondency my musings fright,
    And frown, to drive fair Cheerfulness away,
    Peep with the moon-beams through the leafy roof,
    And keep that fiend Despondence far aloof.

    Should Disappointment, parent of Despair,
    Strive for her son to seize my careless heart;
    When, like a cloud, he sits upon the air,
    Preparing on his spell-bound prey to dart:
    Chase him away, sweet Hope, with visage bright,
    And fright him as the morning frightens night!

    Whene’er the fate of those I hold most dear
    Tells to my fearful breast a tale of sorrow,
    O bright-eyed Hope, my morbid fancy cheer;
    Let me awhile thy sweetest comforts borrow:
    Thy heaven-born radiance around me shed,
    And wave thy silver pinions o’er my head!

    Should e’er unhappy love my bosom pain,
    From cruel parents, or relentless fair;
    O let me think it is not quite in vain
    To sigh out sonnets to the midnight air!
    Sweet Hope, ethereal balm upon me shed,
    And wave thy silver pinions o’er my head!

    In the long vista of the years to roll,
    Let me not see our country’s honour fade:
    O let me see our land retain her soul,
    Her pride, her freedom; and not freedom’s shade.
    From thy bright eyes unusual brightness shed –
    Beneath thy pinions canopy my head!

    Let me not see the patriot’s high bequest,
    Great Liberty! how great in plain attire!
    With the base purple of a court oppress’d,
    Bowing her head, and ready to expire:
    But let me see thee stoop from heaven on wings
    That fill the skies with silver glitterings!

    And as, in sparkling majesty, a star
    Gilds the bright summit of some gloomy cloud;
    Brightening the half veil’d face of heaven afar:
    So, when dark thoughts my boding spirit shroud,
    Sweet Hope, celestial influence round me shed,
    Waving thy silver pinions o’er my head.




  39. Expect The Worst And Hope For The Best

    Poet: Lillian E Curtis

    In this world where waves of trouble ever are rolling,
    And discouragement is ofttimes a guest,
    If, perchance, there's a fond hope with its gentle consoling,
    Expect the worst and hope for the best....

    Read the complete poem, Expect The Worst And Hope For The Best




  40. Star Of Hope

    Poet: Lillian E Curtis

    We look o'er the dark clouds that hover around,
    To greet a ray of light visible afar,
    And tho' trials and troubles are dense and profound,
    We would look for Hope's radiant star....

    Read the complete poem, Star Of Hope




  41. My Weakness

    Poet: Greta Zwaan, ©2012

    In my weakness I am strong, for it is not I;
    What I have I do not own, even should I try.
    Born a pauper, not born free - having no control;
    No concept of whom I am, searching in my soul....

    Read the complete poem, My Weakness




  42. Hope For Tomorrow

    Poet: Charles S. Poling

    There's never a road but has an end,
    And each long day has its close,
    And all must say good-bye to a friend,
    And the frost must blight the rose....

    Read the complete poem, Hope For Tomorrow




  43. Like A Fair Pearl

    Poet: Mary C. Ryan

    Like a fair pearl within its shell,
    A sweet hope lies within each breast;
    Far, far below the billow's crest.
    Below each varying tidal swell....

    Read the complete poem, Like A Fair Pearl




  44. The Birth Of Hope

    Poet: Douglas Malloch

    Last night the path of life was drear
    And dead leaves shivered in the breeze.
    Last night the world was bleak and blear.
    And want and sorrow, pain and fear,
    Lurked in the shadows of the trees....

    Read the complete poem, The Birth Of Hope




  45. On Hope's Broken Wing

    Poet: Mary C. Ryan

    On hope's broken wing my spirit once fell.
    From joy's sunny heights to great depths of woe;
    And music's sweet strains in sadness did swell,
    Life's garden of flowers was covered with snow....

    Read the complete poem, On Hope's Broken Wing


Related Pages:

Christmas Poems About Hope - Let the spirit of the season and these hopeful Christmas poems bring light to your heart all year long.

Hope Quotes - These short quotes offer quick encouragement to lift your heart and remind you to keep hoping.

Christian Quotes About Hope - Be inspired by faith-filled words that speak to the strength and comfort hope brings.

Lost Hope Quotes - Even in moments of doubt, these quotes remind us that hope can be found again.

Hopeful Quotes - Let these hopeful words give you strength to face today and believe in tomorrow.

Discouragement Quotes - When you feel down, these quotes offer gentle reminders to hold on and not give up.

Bible Verses about Hope In Hard Times - Find comfort and encouragement through these Bible verses that speak of hope in life’s struggles.

Life Journey Poems - These poems reflect on life’s ups and downs, reminding us that hope walks every step with us.


Hope is the one thing in life we never want to lose.

More Poems of Encouragement to encourage and inspire


Discover More from Famous Poets

Some of the poems featured on this page were written by these renowned poets. Click their names to learn more about them and their timeless works:

For a full collection of celebrated poets, visit our Famous Poets page.






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