Hope hurts

A short poem

A man wandered through a desert, lost and confused.

He saw a pool of water ahead,
shimmering in the light.
So he ran and dipped his feet in,
But it was a mirage.

He saw a plane above him
passing in front of the sun.
So he cried out and raised his hands,
but it was only a vulture.

He heard a shout from his rescuer
echoing off canyon walls.
So he stopped and listened,
but it was the howling of a wolf.

He saw a house upon a hill,
upright and welcoming.
So he stumbled through the doorway,
but it was long abandoned.

He saw the smoke of a campfire
just before him, waving in the wind.
So he crawled forward to see,
but it was a wild fire.

The fire soon surrounded him
and he laid down to die.

As he lay dying,
He saw a farmhouse through the smoke,
And he cursed it.
He saw a lake by its side,
And he cursed it.
He heard a plane overhead,
And he cursed it.
He heard a shout from a distance,
And he cursed it too.

A man reached out and shook him,
"Sir, ive found you! Have no fear, its my house you see by the lake, and i started this brush fire. Here, take this water."

The lost man cried out in his delirium,
"Leave me Satan! I have seen you and know you. You’re an angel of light, and you fooled me more than thrice. Be gone and take your hope with you, ive had enough of it. This desert has killed me, but hope is what tortures me."