Like most people I’ve had my share of ups and downs. Last year a fractured metatarsal in my left foot impaired my ability to walk for several months. During my recovery I spent a lot of time reading and discovered a volume of Emily Dickinson Collected Poems published by Fall River Press. Since poetry invites interpretation by the reader, I want to share my thoughts about one of my favorites, “Hope is a Thing with Feathers.” Emily Dickinson penned this work in 1861.
Hope is a 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.
This poem encouraged me to never lose hope that I would someday walk again without pain. Today I’ve recovered from my injury, and Emily Dickinson’s words still speak to my spirit. As an optimist, I connect with the theme of hope. But her words also challenge me to think.
I wonder why she chose a little bird as a metaphor for hope. Birds take flight when they sense danger. They migrate to avoid harsh weather. Birds seem unsettled and fragile in comparison with other animals. But the bird in the poem is not flying. Instead it’s perched in a person’s soul singing a tune which never ends. Could its song be one of praise to its creator?
The bird’s song of hope warms those who live in cold and lonely places. Although the little bird is fragile, its tune can keep people alive during the fiercest storm. Since I live in Florida, I think of hurricane survivors who rebuild their community after a storm. They hear the song of hope which renders a power of resiliency not easy to understand.
The Oxford Language Dictionary defines hope as a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. The Bible goes beyond the dictionary and describes hope as what people look for God to do. Hope goes beyond a wish, to a confident expectation in God’s ability to meet a need.
Dickinson describes the little bird as asking for nothing, not even a crumb. It doesn’t cost a penny to be optimistic. Hope holds much value to people who rely on its power because it lifts their spirits. We’ve all heard stories of people who have survived unsurmountable circumstances because they did not give up. Their stories encourages us, no matter what obstacles we’re facing.
Let’s come back to the little bird in the poem. Could the bird be a dove? The Old Testament relates that after the Flood, Noah sent a dove from the ark to find land. The dove returned with an olive branch in its beak. Then Noah knew the water had receded from the earth. (Genesis 8:10-12 NIV) Can you imagine the hopefulness Noah must have felt?
The dove appears again in the New Testament. All four gospels communicate that the Holy Spirit took the form of a dove and was seen at Jesus’ baptism. Here the dove symbolizes the holiness with which Jesus was endowed. His sacrificial death for our sins brought reconciliation with God to everyone who believes.
When Jesus sent his disciples into various towns he said, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16 NKJV) Like the feathered thing in Dickinson’s poem, doves are harmless creatures. When housed in a soul however, the dove emanates courageous hope.
Hope is a gift from God to those who seek HIm. Perhaps hope does make one demand. It asks us to trust in God. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13 NIV)
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