Extraordinary students at Rytmus Music School writing to Peru

the hope anthology

22A AT RYTMUS GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN – 18 DECEMBER 2023

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I love Peru so much; it’s such a beautiful country and I really hope to go there someday. What do you think about Sweden? Personally, I think it’s a pretty hopeless country. It’s so dark and sad and depressing. I hate it…

I’m feeling so honored to get to write a personal letter to a Peruvian. I’ve actually always wanted to live in Peru, life there really fascinates me. What’s your perspective on life? How is life in Peru? 

Here is a little poem about hope I wrote for you.

Hope

 The sunshine beams through my pulled down blinds

There’s something out there looking for me

I hope it’s God

I’ve been looking for him

Even during the darkest night

There is always light

If you look for it right

In a world of doubt, hope is not to be found

It’s easy to lose track of time and to get lost in the darkness

I feel like hope isn’t real, hope hasn’t really given me hope

Hope is for the lazy, personally – I create my own hope instead of hoping for the best. 

What is even hope? What do people mean?

Are we all searching for it? 

Everyone’s striving after something

Is it hope? 

What do they mean when they talk about it

No one really knows

/Benjamin 

–

part 1 ungrateful hope

Another happy day but you’re not sure why

you are living of a product that money can’t buy

The future you don’t think about

You find a sneaky way around  

Since everything is going smoothly

It always has

Can’t remember when you last felt moody

But time will always pass

You don’t yet know

so you can’t know when

only god knows

something bad will happen

part 2 hopelesness

when it all comes crashing down

the world will make you it’s clown

however many jokes you tell it

it will forever only repell it 

time is such a waste of life

there is so little here to do

we learn to eat with forks and knives

but oppurtunities never debut

you try to stand up but the roof is far too low

the roof is able to be carried but its heavy and its slow

inside you it still burns so you breathe and you blow

now you know you’ll make it, you can finally see the glow

part 3 hope

you wake up and a purpose have found you

maybe it’s something you always knew

maybe it’s something entirely new 

at least now you have a brightfull clue

there is now a light you can see and follow

hope has filled what yesterday felt hollow

but yesterday is dead, it has been left in the past

time is always changing, and its changing fast

Bo Viitanen

–

 I don’t know what hope is for me. It kinda feels like a false guarantee. Does it drive me to do what I do? Do things you hope for even come true? I know it feels kinda hopeless to say, but in what parts of life does hope even comes to play. I do things myself and I work hard for them. Who’s to say I am where i am just because of it i dreamt. 

  On the other hand you gotta hope for something, what is life even if you don’t hope for another spring. For another summer and another break, for another bother and another mistake. Isn’t life boring if you are the only part, your path decided by your muscles and your beating heart. Imagine a world so boring and bland, where everything that happens, stems from your hands.

As I’m reading this, my mind is conflicted. What view do I want to accept and will it make me restricted? What should I accept as me, and what are just my wishes? Have I got all that I have for free or did I choose to get it? Did I put in blood sweat and tears or did I waste my spirit and my years.

I think I’m gonna contradict myself because I don’t feel like pondering. I’ll take pride in what I have done but also wish for it and stop with all wondering. 

Hanno 

–

Hope

People need water to survive and hope to live.

Where is my hope ? Where is my life?

Hope is the drive for everything. The source of dreams and goals.

It might be hard to find. But it’s out there.

Without hope,  you have no goals

Without hope, you have nothing

A hopeless soul is a dead entity

Drained of all dreams and desires

–

Hope and hopelessness are words very often thrown around with little to no meaning in today’s society. I’m not saying I know the definition of hope, since it’s a very individual concept. Everybody has their own perception of things, and hope is certainly one of them. I’m only pointing out the fact that hope is a very heavy word if you take some time to think about the actual meaning and your own perception of the word. It’s more than just a word. The thoughts you get from thinking about hope could tell a story. Maybe a story about your past experiences, or maybe about your future goals.

To me, hope means the main source of drive, motivation and need for something, or a desire to get to another point in your life. That could really mean anything. It’s a really broad perception that fits into many different scenarios in life. That’s why I believe that hope is around us in every choice we take, and every decision we make. Every purchase we make while shopping is hope for something to bring us happiness. Every risky decision in life is brought up with the hope of achieving or doing something great. I could go on forever. I’m not saying your perception should be like mine. But what I am saying is that you should think more about the actual meanings of words that you use. Not only to get a better perception of what words mean but to get a better perception of your own thoughts and beliefs.

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Hope 

A dark feeling inside, a hope that you one day be mine, I’m losing my control, a need of having you beside, but maybe one day the sun will shine, and there is nowhere to hide, you will stand there beside and never get behind. But then another fear shows you go to one of your so called “side hoes”. But why should I fear you are the only one I really want to trust, but I must be able to see your dark side, before or if you leave or stay behind. Why do I overthink I have to think about now

But that’s one thing that is sure no one else can love you more.

–

HOPE 

Many people hope things aren’t true when they hear them.

Just like losing a loved one it just doesn’t make sense until you see their bodies lying right in front of you

You just realize that most people are just like ants. Insignificant to most but not to the ones around you. 

The love of others grows inside you like a plant and blossoms into something beautiful

So I think it’s suitable to say that however small you think you are, the love of those around you lifts you up and makes you a better person.

–

Hope

Hope. What is hope? What are we, without hope? Hope lets us go through dark times, through tough situations. When we feel like there is nothing left. Let me give you an example of what that can be like.

When you’ve lost your mom, your dad, your sister and you’re now homeless. You feel like you have nothing. The cardboard that you’ve slept on for days, has now started to rot because of the rain that’s been pouring down for 3 days straight. The bridge you slept under for the last 6 months is now a prohibited place for the homeless. You get kicked out, disrespected and forgotten by society. You have nothing left. 

There is no hope. 

No one who loves you anymore. You feel so left out. The dog that has kept you company for the past years, died getting hit by a lamborghini. Isn’t that ironic. And there is not a single McDonalds that would hire you as an employee because of your dirty clothes and horrible smell. There is no way out. And if there would be a way out of this hell you would do it. Whatever it takes. 

But maybe there is a way out. To end it all. To just let go of everything. Either way there would be no one who would miss you, right? You would do anything for that. To finally have some peace. That’s the fire you have left in your soul. You finally start sitting outside the grocery store and gather money to go to the doctors, make up some shitty ass story, and then start collecting pills. Because you learned in school a long time ago, that if you take too many, you can die. And that’s exactly what your plan is. After a few months you’ve finally reached your goal of collecting pills and your planning to end it all tomorrow. But then, suddenly, there is a man standing in front of you. He is dressed well, slicked hair dressed in a gray suit. He said hi. No one has approached him in years if they didn’t have to. But you look up, say hello back and then he puts his hand on your shoulders and says “can I pray for you”. You say yes with doubt, with the pills gathered in your hand ready to swallow them all but you slowly lay them on the ground. The man starts praying and you feel a strange feeling in your soul you haven’t felt for years. You recognize it but you can’t put words on what it is. You start shaking and crying out of control and then he stops. “Amen”, he says and then smiles at you. He gives you a couple of bucks and then says goodbye. You are so confused. Don’t know what just happened. You still feel that strange nice feeling but still don’t know. And then you hear something else. “Sorry I forgot man, Jesus loves you!”. You now know what it was. It was love. Real love. From Jesus.

You ended up in a church, got help to get an apartment, a job at a real restaurant and real friends. You started dressing nice and going back to the same street he had been living on for years and praying for the homeless and inviting them to your church. You were now like the man that changed his life. You now knew what life was really about. What your hope was. Helping others with no hope left, and finding out about God.

That could be hope, but at least it is hope, for me.

–

Hope

Hope is a big word. Something bright to help us keep going and not giving up. Believing that things will get better. As long as we have some sort of hope beside us, everything will be okay. 

Hope is there to help us make us stay. Believing that we can succeed and make the world a better place. 

Believing that we can reach our dreams. Hope is supposed to make us keep moving forward. 

But hope is not everything, it should not consume us. We need to make things happen, we can’t just sit and wait for something to happen to us, we need to be the change. 

You are not supposed to be not in charge but sometimes when you don’t even notice it, hope controls you.

–

Another day.

Hope that you wake up tomorrow

Hope that you won’t die alone

Hope that you won’t die in a car crash

Hope that you will grow old

Hope your feelings stay intact

Hope your feelings don’t break apart

Hope your feelings keep you together

Hope your feelings keep you sane

Hope the mind don’t overload

Hope the mind don’t explode

Hope the mind doesn’t make you feel 

like everything you do is for nothing

Hope the mind doesn’t make you feel 

so hurt and so far from home

Hope everything will be okay, 

even though it might not be true

Hope everything will be okay, 

even though it might seem wrong

Hope you’ll be okay

maybe another day

–

LaSteven

I know this was an assignment to write a poem about hope. It is easy for some people to write about hope and maybe for some not, like me. The word hope means so many things and of course its meaning is different for different individuals. I found it hard to understand what hope meant for me individually. Maybe excitement, desire, belief or motivation?

To be honest I don’t like the word hope, I like wish better. The words themselves are kind of similar though the feelings are very different, at least for me. For me, wish gives off as many people would say the same feelings that hope gives. Excitement, belief, but also freedom. It’s something very free I find in that word. For me it gives something more than hope does. But it’s still just how I think and feel. Hope for me sounds so straight and sounds ironic when you say it out loud. “I hope you will get better soon”. I hope this and I hope that. The word has an attitude which I find a little annoying and misused. So I have kind of begun to lose interest in the word itself. It’s like you are expecting a future instead of actually trying to put in some effort in the present.

I don’t really expect or hope for anything specific in the future. Do you know what I do?

I wish. 

.-.-.-.-

What is hope without someone, what is someone without hope,

A symbiotic dance, a delicate tightrope.

If water is hope and a fish is man,

On arid plains, hope slips through like sand.

A fish on land gasps for the stream’s embrace,

Its fins yearning for a familiar space.

In the parched expanse, where dreams are dried,

A person without hope feels cast aside.

Our desire for hope, an eternal flame,

Igniting within us, an intrinsic aim.

It shapes our journey, the stories we write,

Guiding us through the darkest night.

A person without hope is adrift at sea,

Lost in the vastness, yearning to be free.

Hope, the compass that steers us ashore,

A beacon of light forevermore.

In the tapestry of life, hope weaves its thread,

A resilient force that conquers dread.

For even when shadows threaten to cope,

It’s hope that anchors the heart with hope.

So let hope be the air that we breathe,

if so, you will find what you seek.

–

Hope

Hope what is hope? Hope is extremely important for many people especially people in hard situations. 

But for me hope is a complicated phenomenon that has many sides to it. Hope is a very light and important word for many however I believe that hope is a synonym for letting faith take your life in its hands. 

If you just sit around hoping it could lead to you not working hard for what you want just because you believe that somehow faith and hope is going to make everything work out in your favor.

 An example of this is if you go through a period where you really want and need a job and you’ve gotten a job interview at your dream place and instead of preparing yourself you just sit there hoping that you’ll get it. 

This could lead to you not getting your dream job and missing the opportunity of getting your opportunity to a life that you want. 

I would say that a good way to avoid getting to this point where you just rely on hope getting you where you want is a combination of the two. Where you combine hope and drive to achieve your goals and dreams.

Hope, hoping, hopeless synonyms that carries the weight of the world, the weight of all the people’s faiths and beliefs.

–

Hello!

I hope this finds you well! Has your day been good? I hope so. If not I hope it will be. I wish for you well things. I hope for you, so to speak. 

    I don’t know you. Not your name, not your personality. Yet I wish that all these little good things happen. That’s how I live, with hope and knowledge that things will get better. However some people don’t have it this well. Whilst I hope for better things, others hope for the bare minimum. Hope isn’t just a small wish either. It can be the hope you have in a desperate situation. It can be a hope for the future. 

Hope can also be an invisible force, which makes us continue on striving for what we want. Hope can be what saves your life one day, makes you take those extra steps towards freedom, because you hope that one day you will be free. Losing hope can be one of the most dangerous things in a situation where hope is needed.

    With that being said I hope that you, stranger, find the hope you need.

So… I hope this finds you, as it leaves me, in good spirits and with hope for the future.

S

–

Hope

In the darkest of nights, when all seems lost, hope emerges, no matter the cost. It whispers gently, a comforting tune, guiding us through, like the light of the moon.

When troubles surround us, and tears fill our eyes, hope paints a picture of brighter skies.

It lifts our spirits, gives us strength to endure, reminding us that every challenge has a meaning, so pure. Hope is the melody that sings in our ears, washing away worries, erasing our fears. It’s the hand that reaches out in times of need, a comforting presence, a friend indeed. 

This is a letter that is specifically for those who feel like the odd one out. That feels like the Zebra in a pack with horses. For those that are afraid, that people will see you in a different way, when your true colors shine through. I feel like you really need hope in those hard times. And I hope that someday, you will see the light. 

// Oscar Lindh

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Hope

“Everyone has hope”

I hope to hope

But dare I hope when all I see is an endless road with obstacles 

A path getting more narrow 

A path fretting to collapse 

A cliff where I’m losing foothold

A cliff surrounded by glass 

I desperately cling to the walls hoping not to fall

But I’m no wall climber, I will fall

I’m walking on the glass

I fell of the cliff long ago

I now have splinters in my feet

How do I dare to hope, when there is no reward with no end to this road

Why do I try?

What will I gain?

My will is fading 

My resolve weakening

My eyes slowly closing 

Did I fall asleep?

I don’t know where I am anymore

I’ve forgotten about the road 

Forgotten what it’s like standing still 

In a way I’m frozen 

Time going nowhere

Everything on autopilot

I walk 

I don’t know how to stop

I don’t know how to rest

I don’t know how to breath 

“Everyone has hope” but I’ve forgotten it’s meaning 

You say that it will get better but you’re no fortune teller

Not everyone has a happy ending 

Saying it’ll get better is just a way to wake hope 

But hoping is hard when you don’t remember how

–

Hope.

Hope is the last thing that leaves you. The single thing that stays by your side until the end. It’s the thing that keeps us going. I have hope for a better future. A better future for the youth. I hope that the climate will get better. That horrible crimes will stop. That vulnerable people will get more protection. That the poverty will end. That diseases will end. I hope, believe and wish that one day the world will be a better place. That life is more fair.

Hope is something I have given up on. I hope for something and it disappears from me. Hope kills, hope lies, hope gives you nothing and takes everything away from you. I hoped to get better but I got worse. Hope doesn’t help you, it takes away something you don’t even have. It destroys your mind and builds it up again with fictional desires. Hope doesn’t want to help you, It wants you to believe in a perfect world while it’s falling apart around you. Instead of trying you keep hoping and it destroys you and everyone around you. Hope means death for this planet and everyone who lives on it. Hope is a lie to create a false security. You sit with your phone on the tram full of people. You see someone getting violently beaten in front of you. She screams for help, but you just hope someone else stops him.

–

Poem

Hope, hope is what drags you through the day, through the year, maybe even through life. Without hope you have nothing to look forward to, nothing that makes the weekdays a little more exciting. Hope, something we love, something we hate. But without hope there is no reason to take a risk. Hope. Hope for me, hope for you, hope for us? Hope is love, hope is fear, hope for someone to not disappear. I hope for us to meet again, I hope for us to stand til the end. Hope is exciting, hope is scary, but I’ll keep hoping, I’ll keep carrying. I hope for me, I hope for you, will you keep hoping? You too? Hope makes you delusional, but denial can be good, you escape reality and make it one to fit you. Hope for me and hope for you, I’ll keep hoping for me and you.

Stella

–

Kids have hope. Growing up our reality is based on people who believe their offspring can

become anything. I had impossible possibilities to become anything and then I was faced

with reality when I was exposed to the world. The will for our parents version of our future to

be true is strong but reality is persistent.

eight

She lost her first piece of hope at eight years old. She had only been eight for a couple of

days when she realized Wolfgang wrote famous pieces at 7 years old.

nine

When she was nine she saw what death did to a man and how it affected the kids and family

he left behind. Being dead meant impossible possibilities to could have become anyone.

Instead of living a life where she amounted to nothing special, she could live with thousands

of possibilities in people’s minds if she was dead.

In honesty she thought that being dead was a blessing for everyone and himself. His kids no

longer had to withstand growing up to hate the person whose testicles they happened to

come from. Observing their faces wet from snot and tears she decided that her theory was

not appropriate to present to the grieving family.

ten

She had dreaded her tenth birthday for months since it meant she would have spent a tenth

of her life ( presuming and hoping she would live to see her hundredth birthday) amounting

to nothing extraordinary.

fourteen

By the time she was in eighth grade she had lost all hope and contrary to popular belief she

felt free, free to do whatever she wanted, in a state she believed to be nirvana. So she made

a thirty year plan of her life according to her Jeff Buckley conspiracy. She quickly changed

her mind and changed it to twenty years since it seemed hopeful to have a life expectancy of

thirty years.

Towards the end of life as well as the beginning of life there is hope. Hope is in death and in

the womb.

–

Hope

What is Hope is hope of feeling, is hope just a word. How can I describe hope, is hope everything is hope nothing, is hope God. To me hope is an excuse an excuse to believe in something that doesn’t exist. Should I believe that hope is going to change my life.

How can a thought change my life when the only thing that can change you is you and not a belief or a Word. What is hope to you hope can be the most important thing a word or a feeling that keeps you going, that make you wake up every day that makes you believe that the world can be a better place, that makes you believe that you have a life worth living. So there is no definition of the word hope, In essence, hope is a fundamental aspect of the human experience. It empowers individuals to look beyond present difficulties, embrace the possibilities of tomorrow, or it can create a mindset that there is an outer world that can stop you from trying?

–

HOPE

My flower is withered. My soul is dark. My feet are cold because of the puddle of tears I’ve cried. Why can’t you just come back? My hope is gone. It’s not fun to live anymore. I’ve lost myself. You were my spark and now you’re gone. Long gone. 

Was it my fault? Is it my fault? I don’t have anything to fight for anymore. A broken heart. I need my spark and hope back. Where to find? Where to begin? 

A lost heart and soul begin to walk. Look for a tunnel with sparks. A new start. But the path is dark, there is no bright side so I thought. Until. A tunnel of hard work I saw. Cleaning up all the mess I’ve made. And the light does not longer fade. I can see. 

Running faster to get out. I’m standing now, by myself. Holding my withered flower close. Breathing. I’m alive again, the flower is beautiful. I only need myself to feel happy this time. And for the first time in a long I hope. 

I hope that I can stay this way and continue to love myself.

In the quiet corners of the night,

Where shadows dance in soft moonlight,

A blooming flower gives a strong bright

When one hope loses ground another one is found

Hope is something that never ends

It will always find its way to mend

Hope gives us the strength to keep on fighting

And when the wish comes true it gives us delighting

Hope is a spark that never dies

It makes our dreams and wishes rise

When your life is full with confusion

Hope gives you the spirit to find the solution

When you think that hope is gone 

A new page is starting to get drawn

Never stop hoping cause the door to hope will never be closing

–

The hope anthology by 22A forms part of a cross-border project where the art of language is practiced, with the intention to bring people together in the work and hope for a brighter future.