After the events in Charlottesville, we asked the Dominican Sisters of Hope where they find hope in trying times. Sister Bette Ann Jaster answered in verse, which took us by surprise and delighted us altogether.

Her words sing the song of women who work tirelessly to move hope into action. As she writes, “Many women should be in this poem. You are the poem!”

Below is her poem:

Hope Springs Eternal

She is my sister, my mentor, my side-kick, my Hope.
Inspiration, her middle name, though she doesn’t gloat.

A mother who rises early, with two sons in tow,
Comes weed the garden to strengthen them and sow.

A woman of 70, lawyer/resister, now runs for office
So, justice won’t miss her.

A grandma, a mother, a wife and a sister,
Befriends homeless survivors, ’til they don’t diss her.

A mom who’s a scientist with two kids in tow,
Speaks of injustice on land, air, and snow.
Fracked gas runs by dear home and their school.
She marches and uses her story as tool.

A Birder engages her outstanding passion,
Bringing our own hearts back into fashion.

A gardener/beekeeper student of nature
Awakens in others compassion for glaciers.

You ask what inspires me, these brave women do.
All sisters, friends, brave women, too.