Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers Meaning: Hope is compared to a small bird.

That perches in the soul, Meaning: That bird is imagined living inside the human soul.

And sings the tune without the words, Meaning: Its song is wordless but constant.

And never stops at all, Meaning: The poem says hope never fully stops singing.

And sweetest in the Gale is heard; Meaning: Hope sounds sweetest when conditions are hardest.

And sore must be the storm Meaning: Only a very severe storm could weaken it.

That could abash the little Bird Meaning: Even then, the little bird is hard to silence.

That kept so many warm. Meaning: Hope has comforted many people.

I've heard it in the chillest land, Meaning: The speaker has heard hope in the coldest places.

And on the strangest Sea; Meaning: It has remained present even in strange and difficult situations.

Yet, never, in Extremity, Meaning: Yet hope never asks for payment in return.

It asked a crumb of me. Meaning: The poem ends by showing hope as a gift freely given.