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Hope
“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –
— Emily Dickinson
To all those who are struggling.
Published in General
Thank you. Good to see that today.
Sometimes hope is all you have. The death of hope is the death of everything.
Emily is amazing.
I took the photo on yesterday’s morning walk . . .
Hope is most powerful when coupled with action!
I’m not sure… That might mean that if no action is possible, hope must die. However, I’d say that the ability to act may lead one to hope, but when there’s nothing left but hope, and no action is possible, that’s when it shows its true strength?
That photo is gorgeous–and you could do with it what I do with my nice weekly photos–and the quote equally so. You know a bit of why it is encouraging and meaningful to me. How are you? Or should we take this off-site? Sorry to be cryptic, everyone. I’m not quite ready to share broadly. Maybe soon.
I’m afraid your description is more complicated than I intended, Mama Toad. I’m only saying that we can hope for many things, but we actualize our hope and change it to action, we have the satisfaction of doing so. I know some who say that hope is a wasted emotion, because we can hope for all kinds of things that have no chance of happening.
Susan, this is just indescribably beautiful. The quote put me in mind of the famous quote by Atticus Finch from which the title of the masterpiece To Kill A Mockingbird was taken when he gave his daughter Scout this advice:
Thanks again for a lovely post.
And thank you for a lovely quote, Jim!
“How wrong Emily Dickinson was! Hope is not the thing with feathers. The thing with feathers turns out to be my nephew. I must take him to a specialist in Zurich.”
-Woody Allen
I couldn’t resist. This quite from a Woody Allen essay came to mind. But it’s obviously a beautiful poem.
That is funny! BTW, here’s the entire poem:
“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 BirdThat 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.
I’m feeling anxiety just looking at that. Eeeck.
That is beautiful. Did you take that with a cell phone camera or a standard camera?
My little ol’ Android. Some photos just can’t be messed up.
It was the title essay from a book of his essays.
Very nice!
That’s okay. That’s just an ambulatory chatbot.
In my poetry class, we are encouraged to write something in the style of the author. Here’s my latest “from Emily”
If only I could not Sing –
I’d tend a sweet garden
And chat with the egg man
Plan dinner for two
Admire the birds’ songs
I’d study the poets.
Partake lovely fashion
With everyday passion
I’d organize days
In calendar ways
Return all the Gifts
My True Lover brought home
I’d rest and relax
On my pillow of stone.
This is great, Gary! Well done. Good for you! Were you around when our resident poet, @arahant, had a series of poetry writing that a number of participated in? It was amazing and fun. I tried my hand at it with mixed results, but it was a great process. In some ways I wish he’d try something like that again. I’m best at simple haiku–
As I sit alone
Sleepy, trying to stay awake
It’s time for dinner!
Modern times, ancient
Footprints found, clearing a path
Most ignore, stumbling
Crossing gates, lights, bells
Glorious locomotive
Watch the train go by
Heaven comes searching
Finding some lost, looking up
Reunion complete
Plumbers and poets
Toil with sharp tools, burnishing,
So others may drink
Oh, very nice! Another haiku fan! You should put up a post and others can contribute. That kind of post has been well-received in the past.
I don’t usually have time at work to stay with a thread and only dabble in participation. Here are a few more:
NASCAR Haiku
Roar! Blur of speed, steel
Screech burnt rubber, courage sings
4, the checkered flag
Trump Haiku
Orange man clears path as
Tornado strikes china shop
Chaotic calm now
Barbecue Haiku
Oak wafts into me
Sauce drips on glistening beef
Tears melt on my bun
So where is all the snow?!
Hee, hee! Sorry to disappoint you . . .