“Hope” is the Thing with Feathers

After a long and brutal winter in the heartland, one of my favorite poems comes to mind as I listen to the birds singing this morning outside my window and look forward to the planets aligning in the sky after dusk tonight. Written by Emily Dickenson around 1861:

“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 chilliest land –

And on the strangest Sea –

Yet – never – in Extremity

It asked a crumb – of me.

Copyright Credit: Emily Dickinson via The Poetry Foundation

Birds remains a constant literary device throughout history, just as Dickenson used a bird as a metaphor for hope in the poem above. One such literary device—the idiom— applies to children. “The canaries in the coal mine,” children speak with unadulterated truth and provide direct feedback of happenings in the world because they have not yet learned how to be anything else but a direct expression of life.

As a teacher working with four hundred kids a week in the middle of the United States, my heart beats in tune with the pulse of children. My general practice when students come to library includes greeting them at the door with a hug, foot bump, high five, etc. They choose.

Yesterday, a third-grade student handed me a folded piece of loose-leaf paper with red handwriting during our greeting and said, “I made this for you.”

As I walked to the front of the space where I teach—a gym turned library—I read the gift. Below are the contents, which have been edited for clarity.

The front cover says

A book to you

by: [student’s name]

Here’s what it said inside:

A book to you is a book from me and a book from me is a book to you.

Oh books, books are the most wonderful

Or

What books are everywhere is me.

You might be fiction or non-fiction

Who knows, maybe both.

Books can be entertainment or help you learn.

But most importantly they’re in our hearts

And they make us happy.

On the back it said:

Thank you for the books.

To: Mrs. J.

The illustrations include images of books on the front and back cover, and a heart in the place of the word “heart” inside the book.

This little person endures more than I wish to or can share … but she brings a message of hope. We can take the one piece of looseleaf paper we have, and the most special writing utensil we own, to transcend into beauty.

So today, in honor of the child you carry within, turn off the news, transcend the gloom, and tap into the thing with feathers to create something beautiful!

Robin in Ireland 2023

Photo credit: author