The cruel promise of hope

Defeat I can deal with. I'm not overly fond of it, true, but cope with it I can. We pick ourselves up, we dust ourselves off, we acknowledge that's what's done is done and then we move on. There's some comfort to be had in the finality, if not the event. Hope, on the other hand... ah, hope - that's a different matter.

The rejection email I received, which I'll admit to having studied perhaps a mite too hard, mentioned that they'd like to keep my details on file in case in further positions open up in the future. I know this is standard practice for all recruitment agencies and that ultimately it means nothing, but I can't help but cling to that sliver of hope.

I should just ignore it, forget it, move on.

But I can't...