What is a theme of "Hope"?

The theme of the poem is hope itself. In this beautiful
poem, Lisel Mueller uses hope as an extended metaphor and personifies it to indicate how
special and inspirational it is. In each line she identifies where hope could be found -
it is present in the most mundane and in the most fundamental of places, events or
circumstances. We are surrounded by it; it is existential, pragmatic and spiritual. We
can find hope within ourselves and we can be inspired by factors outside ourselves as
well.

Mueller emphasizes that hope is
ever-present.

The most fundamental point she makes about
hope is found in lines 16 to 20:

readability="12">

It is the singular
gift

we cannot destroy in
ourselves,

the argument that refutes
death,

the genius that invents the
future,

all we know of
God.

We may attempt to, but
we can never destroy hope, not even within ourselves. Hope challenges death and can
overcome it. It is what inspires us to live for the future and it is godly and therefore
deeply spiritual. 

It is through this poem that Lisel
Mueller attempts to give hope a voice. All we need to do is listen, and we will find it.
Hope is what makes our lives meaningful and it is hope that inspires us to live beyond
our circumstances and look forward to a better tomorrow. If we struggle to find hope
anywhere, this poem is where we can find it.