“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.--
“Hope” is the thing with feathers by Emily Dickinson.
Process Theology and Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson speaks of hope as the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, singing a tune without words. Hope is not blind optimism or certainty of outcomes. It is trust in the availability of fresh possibilities. Process theologians speak of these fresh possibilities as gifts from God, as melodies from heaven, as initial aims. Who could have known the gifts would have so many feathers?