I've got a little more Emily Dickinson for you this week — a well-known classic that I turn to often. It's the perfect way for me to kick off 2025, a year in which we'll need lots of hope perching in our souls to keep us motivated and moving forward. As one wise woman often says, "Don't agonize, organize."
by Emily Dickinson
“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -
(Read the rest here, at The Poetry Foundation.)
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The incredible Mary Lee Hahn (she of "herd the poetry cats every six months, create a Poetry Friday schedule, and put together the code that many of us post on our sites" fame) is hosting the round-up this week at A(another) Year of Reading. Thanks, Mary Lee, for your dedication and service to the Poetry Friday community (not to mention your marvelous poems)!
(Photo thanks to Ray Hennessy at Unsplash.)
A favorite of mine, too!
ReplyDeleteRuth, yes, Emily is always a good choice! :)
DeleteThis is a favorite! Here's to lots of hope in 2025, as well as lots of organizing!
ReplyDeleteTo 2025, Denise!
DeleteIt's an honor to be the poet-wrangler for now! Poetry Friday feeds my soul in so many ways...what a fantastic community that exists to bring more beauty and wonder to the world!
ReplyDeleteThere's definitely a place for Emily's version of hope, but I think hope is going to need to be a bit grittier and scrappier in the years to come.
Yes, I keep it on my desktop, and with your post, filling up again for 2025, Karen! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteHappy new year, Linda!
DeleteI do love this poem. Thank you for letting me come across it today!
ReplyDeleteSarah Grace, happy to oblige! :D
DeleteKaren, thank you for bringing a wonderful poem to start our year. The first stanza of Dickinson's poem is a favorite of mine. I also think that your thoughm, "we'll need lots of hope perching in our souls" is a strong statement. The photo you chose is beautiful. While living on Long Island I was fortunate to find a cardinal perching on my white fence. He allowed me to take a photo of him. .
ReplyDeleteCarol, cardinals are so beautiful. No matter how many times I spot one, I still feel captivated. :)
DeleteI love how this poem shows up in my life. Each time I read it, it seems to address some need in a way that surprises me with perfect timing. Happy New Year, Karen.
ReplyDeleteMe too, Linda! Hope is eternal, but the needs and things I may be hoping for/about change all the time.
DeleteDon't agonize, organize. :) I am kind of in love with the word "perch" right now. Thank you! xo
ReplyDeleteUnderstandable, Irene — "perch" is such a likeable word. :)
DeleteI'm sitting with "it never asked a crumb of me" -- Here I am thinking I have to feed hope...I wonder if that's even true?
ReplyDeletePatricia, I recently heard Nancy Pelosi say, on Julia Louis-Dreyfus's podcast that, "Hope lies where it's always been — between faith and love." I loved that.
DeleteI never tire of that poem. Thank you and Happy New Year.
ReplyDeleteHappy new year to you too, Rose!
DeleteBetween faith and love, and never asking for a crumb. That last line sounds different to me this time. I wonder what it means...Thanks for your comment on my blog, Karen.
ReplyDeleteTo lose hope is unthinkable - even in the darkest times, the light is always there, somewhere - sometimes it's harder to find than others. <3
ReplyDelete