Give me a wish: the fairy tale narrative, the genie's pact, the birthday candle ceremony. We have been educated to trust in magical interactions and cosmic client care in which the cosmos accepts requests.
Children yearn: a puppy, snow on Christmas, parents who cease fighting. Their wants are clean, free from the cynicism taught to us that wishing is fruitless. Having learnt wishes come with small print, adult wish more thoughtfully and monkey's paw conditions turn wishes into nightmares.
Be wary of your wishes, advises getting what you want shows you never really knew what you desired. The promotional campaign that ruins your relationship. The celebrity that obliterates privacy. The riches draws false friends.
Perhaps hoping itself counts more than bestowing. The process of expressing want, acknowledging what you lack, wishing against evidence that hope is stupid. Dreams given voice are prayers for the worldly. Give me a wish: for bravery to go toward what I'm hoping for myself rather than for mystical assistance.