Offered by Bethany Rivers
Welcome to the next Poetry Corner offering. I chose the poem 'Hope is a thing with feathers' by Emily Dickinson. Probably her most well-known poem, it sits like a whisper in your ear, waiting for your full attention. And hope is something we all need so much more of now, in the times we're living in.
Poem
“Hope” is the thing with feathers
“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.
by Emily Dickinson
Reflection
I had a clear image come through of this tiny wren, the smallest of birds, singing in the brutal storm, and a sense of carrying this song of hope within, within myself, within all of us. And that no matter how 'sore' the storm, or how abashed the bird, the song of hope continues.
Bethany Rivers
November 2025
