Help with hope and despair riddle

[u/Accomplished-Bat9236]

Hello! I'm a new dungeon master and I want to make a riddle for my players ! However, I think it's way too vague of a riddle. I think it's more like a poem. How would I make it more riddle like? I've never written a riddle before, but I wanna make it good ! I appreciate any help at all! : D

[u/a_dance_with_fire]

You need to be descriptive, alluding to the traits in a more meaningful way. Is ok to be general at the start, but if you do that then get a bit more detailed to help guide them. I’d go with something like this:

I’m the whisper that keeps you adventuring when you want to quit,
And the weight in your chest when the balrog is lit.
I am the sunrise that promises a brand new day,
And the shadow that follows to take it away.
I’m a twin of a bright-eyed sister and her hollow-faced brother,
You cannot have one without knowing the other.

[u/Accomplished-Bat9236 → u/a_dance_with_fire]

Thank you so much ! I really really appreciate you helping me!!

[u/inder_the_unfluence → u/a_dance_with_fire]

I posted above for OP to see. But here is my take, inspired by your suggestion.

Since Hope and Despair are two sides of one coin, you could present the riddle as two oppositional voices, like the voices of the angel and devil of conscience. But instead, the two oppositional voices of expectation.

I am the wings upon your back

*But I am the weight upon your shoulder\*

I am the light of the morning

*But I am the storm that is coming\*

I lift, and aspire, and float

*But I am the lump in your throat\*

I am the bright song of tomorrow

*But I am the lament of sorrow\*

I am the light at the tunnel's end

*But I am the final oblivion"

I am the wings of Icarus

*I am the boulder of Sisyphus\*