Tag: hope

The Rose That Endures Against All Odds

What Significance Does The Rose Have?

The following poem is about The Rose That Endures Against All Odds, a rose that grows in a most unlikely place. Yet despite the harsh conditions of where it grows, the rose continues to withstand the onslaught of elements and even thrive. Those who see it in this place find it to be a source of inspiration. And come to the realization that the beauty and inner strength within themselves could not only survive the adversity of their own lives but go on to achieve their dreams. The rose becomes a symbol of hope.

The Rose

There is a rose that continues to stand in fierce storm;
its fragile, delicate beauty somehow survives
against all assaults,
as the wind
sometimes ravages its delicate form.
Pellets of rain pierce the lovely petals
but enduring is its remarkable beauty
seemingly against all odds.
No matter what befalls,
this fragile flower somehow persists.
Alone it stands,
bathed in rays of light,
as if to enshrine
amongst the dense weed
and remnant ruins of buildings-
of tenants whose leases have long expired,
now only haunted by vagrants who live in exile…

An imposing figure,
salient…
in this urban slum;
its deep crimson color,
bold…
against the drabness of its surroundings
where everything merges into indistinguishable form except-
for the sometimes piercing sounds of sirens
or the shouts of city dwellers.
Its perfect symmetry…
stands in stark contrast to such
an imperfect place,
as a relic from an ancient time
picked for the Grecian goddess of purity herself,
and from her bouquet hurled
to purge the vile stains from such an impure world.

Among the hopes which perished
long ago with those who live in despair,
it seems that this rose exists
for a single purpose,
to inspire those few who see it…
Still giving a sense of
faith in another tomorrow
courage to believe in a dream-
a last yet lingering…hope.

~ Lora Hollings

Listen To The Rose: The Song

Lovely Songs That Celebrate The Rose

Both of these songs about a rose as a symbol for people who are transformed through a spiritual awakening have always been a favorite. I hope that you enjoy their beautiful music and inspiring message.

The Rose by Bette Midler

Insights About This Poem

The Rose uses the image of a single flower surviving in a harsh, forgotten urban landscape to explore the quiet power of resilience and hope. The rose’s fragility is not portrayed as weakness, but as a contrast that magnifies its strength. Despite storms, piercing rain, and the desolation surrounding it, the rose persists—standing as living proof that beauty and purpose can endure even where neglect and decay dominate.

The urban setting is significant. Ruined buildings, abandoned lives, and the noise of sirens create a world stripped of harmony, making the rose’s symmetry and vivid color all the more striking. It becomes a silent protest against despair, reminding observers that purity and meaning have not vanished, even in places long written off. The rose does not escape its environment; it exists fully within it, transformed by adversity rather than destroyed by it.

Ultimately, the rose symbolizes the human spirit. It mirrors those who continue to dream, love, and believe despite hardship. For those who notice it, the rose offers more than beauty—it offers permission to hope. It affirms that inner strength, once rooted, can survive the harshest conditions and still reach toward the light, inspiring courage for another tomorrow.

In The Rose That Endures Against All Odds and The Gift of Love, resilience and compassion emerge as quiet forces that shape growth and understanding. Both poems honor strength found in gentleness and the beauty that arises when differences are met with care rather than resistance. These reflections naturally lead to The Flower Garden, where endurance and love are gathered into a broader meditation on acceptance, inclusion, and the shared humanity that connects us all.

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Simple Acts of Kindness

Every Little Deed

For every little seed
carried by the wind
or bird on wing…
a new plant may spring.

Each little drop of water
from clouds descend,
flow into great rivers
where so much life depends.

Every little ray of sunshine
helps plants to grow strong
and with a little care
may bring fruit to bear…

Like each part in nature
so are we—
in doing a kind deed,
helping a living being in need;

As a kind word
or an action
to timely send…
can a broken heart mend.

Important is my life you see…
it is not such a small thing
to make a heart sing,
and to alter a destiny.

Great changes can be wrought
from little deeds brought;
humble creatures together change
the landscape of earth—
each act has worth.

Every note plays its part
to create the loveliest song…
so does nature intricately woven
in the fabric of this earth to which we belong.

As gentle showers
bring forth abundant flowers,
kind deeds can reign…
creating near a heaven’s domain.

~ Lora Hollings

“True beauty is born through our actions and aspirations and in the kindness we offer to others.”
~ Alek Wek

Simple Acts of Kindness

“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.”
~ Coretta Scott King

Eugene man helping homeless people with free haircuts

After four drug overdoses and serving time behind bars, Lucas has found purpose in barbering. He’s now giving free haircuts to homeless people. He hopes that his haircuts will give the homeless, the self-esteem that they need to change their own lives. “Hopefully, it will give them the will to get a job or something,” he said.

Ashlee Wiese, a local defense attorney who has represented Lucas, said she has seen such a transformation first-hand.

“We had a woman who got her haircut, and it was a whole new life for her at that moment,” she said. “She just felt so
much better about who she was just because someone cared enough to help her feel better about the way she looked.”

D.C. restaurant feeds the poor and homeless every single day

After Kazi Mannan, owner of Sakina Halal Grill opened his restaurant in 2013, he decided homeless people eat for free.

“If someone says I need a free meal, OK,” Mannan said. He doesn’t ask questions and never judges anyone. His policy has remained the same for the last five years. If you’re hungry, poor or homeless, you eat for free. In 2018, he estimates they served over 16,000 free meals.”

An immigrant from a small village in Pakistan, when he arrived to the United States, he had less than $5 in his pocket. “Once upon a time, I was in a similar situation where I didn’t have enough money to eat. You pass by a restaurant but never able to go in. When you don’t have money, nobody is going to let you in,” he said.

Mannan is a person whose kind heart and positive energy vibrates throughout his restaurant. “I don’t want any donation but if you’re coming in to eat, that’s your support of helping a community restaurant that is offering kindness and love others,” Mannan said. “I’m trying to worship our Creator through food.”

References

  1. Christian Hill, “Eugene man helping homeless people with free haircuts,” AP, AP NEWS, 2018, https://www.apnews.com/27fea8cabf474a30b6afe9ded05b638c, (accessed 19 April 2019).
  2. Caroline Patrickis, D.C. restaurant feeds the poor and homeless every single day WJLA, ABC7, 2019, https://wjla.com/news/local/dc-restaurant-feeds-the-poor and-homeless-every-single-day, (accessed 19 April 2019).
Students helping each other

Insight from this poem

This poem is a gentle meditation on the power of small actions and their quiet ability to shape the world. By weaving together images of nature—seeds, rain, sunshine, rivers, flowers—with human kindness, the poem draws a beautiful parallel between the natural world and human responsibility. It reminds us that growth is rarely dramatic or instant; instead, it happens through patience, care, and consistency. Just as tiny drops of water form great rivers, small acts of compassion accumulate into meaningful change. The poem also affirms personal worth, emphasizing that no life or deed is insignificant. Every word spoken kindly, every helping hand, every compassionate choice becomes part of a greater harmony. The message is deeply hopeful: transformation doesn’t require grand gestures—only faithfulness in small ones. In this way, the poem becomes both a reflection and a call to live gently, intentionally, and lovingly within the shared fabric of creation.

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A New Day Has Come

A New Beginning

As we begin each new year, it is a good time to resume goals that have been put on hold and begin again with a renewed sense of commitment and enthusiasm. There is no time like the present. We don’t have an unlimited amount of time to achieve the work that gives us a sense of purpose or meaning in our lives. Ignite that longing or passion in you that you’ve put off for so long whether it be for a cause, going back to school, volunteering to help animals or people that need your help, mentoring or teaching others a skill that they would like to have, or sharing your talents with others to not only enrich their lives but to enrich your life as well. It’s time to renew yourself or begin again. It’s the dawning of a new day. I now have a grandson that has brought much love and joy into my life when I needed it most. The first time, I heard him utter the words, “grandma, I love you,” it was like life was born anew in me and it was like a new beginning in my life.

The following poem is about this new beginning in my life with the birth of my grandson. Reliving many moments in my childhood through him and seeing the wonder in his eyes when he learns something new has been a journey both healing and rewarding.

Innocent One

Oh beautiful child,
little lamb of promise
with your sweet, sad eyes-
reflecting, lush pools of angel softness.
Your melancholy lights burn deep
into this soul
and sing silently to me;
as the gentle humming bird,
undauntedly, unquestioningly
alights in a barren, withered field…
and trustingly sows a tiny seed into the ground
from which new life may spring,
you absolve me of my unworthiness
and still even my skeptic cries.

~ Lora Hollings

A New Day Has Come –
Céline Dion

Insights About This Poem

“Innocent One” is a meditation on renewal born through intergenerational love. The poem frames the birth of a grandchild not simply as a joyful event, but as a quiet spiritual reckoning—one that reopens the speaker’s inner landscape and invites healing where doubt once lived. The child’s “sweet, sad eyes” suggest a depth beyond age, reflecting both vulnerability and ancient wisdom. In witnessing this innocence, the speaker confronts their own feelings of unworthiness and skepticism, which are gently dissolved by the child’s mere presence.

The hummingbird becomes a central symbol of faith and resilience. Its willingness to alight in a “barren, withered field” mirrors the poet’s emotional terrain—places marked by past wounds or exhaustion. Yet, like the bird sowing a seed, the child brings the promise of regeneration without judgment or expectation. This act is not dramatic; it is quiet, instinctual, and deeply trusting.

The poem reveals how new life can restore a sense of meaning that time and hardship may erode. Through the grandchild, the speaker relives childhood wonder while also finding absolution and hope. “Innocent One” ultimately affirms that love—pure, unguarded, and unearned—has the power to transform skepticism into grace and barrenness into possibility.

Additional Poems by Lora Hollings

The sense of wonder first awakened in The Ladybug Poem echoes through the hopeful beginnings of A New Day Has Come and the quiet tenderness of The Gift of Love. These reflections grow richer in Inspiring Poems About Daughters and the heartfelt wisdom shared in Mothers Guide Us Throughout Life, where love, guidance, and presence shape our lives. Together, these pieces gently point toward The Magic of Being, a cornerstone meditation that gathers these moments into a reminder that life’s true magic is found in awareness, connection, and simply being.

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