THE POEM
Emily Dickinson (1830 –1886) was a 19th century American poet whose work explores timeless themes such as love, loss, hope and inner strength. Although she wrote over a thousand poems, only a handful were ever published during her lifetime. She is now considered to be one of America’s greatest poets.
In this beautiful and moving poem, Dickinson uses the image of a little bird to convey her message, indicating that hope can survive in the harshest gales, coldest lands and strangest seas, yet it never demands anything in return. It persists, continuously lives within our souls, and sustains us during life’s most testing times.
“Hope” is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I’ve heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
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By EMILY DICKINSON
