This is a poem that came from a student mistake, writing “once of hope” instead of “ounce of hope.”

How an ounce of hope 

Becomes a once of hope 

That once of hope lasts to this day 

Is in these words 

Is in every page I've written

 

This endless dream 

Started with a pencil 

Scribbling inside the blue lines 

On them 

Across them 

 

This true belief 

Belied by reality 

Given the smallest sustenance 

10 dollars 

Poems in print 

Stories imprinted in the cloud 

 

Yet the once of hope endures 

It was hoped so strong 

Multiplying from the ounce of hope

It once came from