“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all.”

— Emily Dickinson, 'Hope' is the thing with feathers (poem, c. 1861)

About Emily Dickinson

1830 – 1886

American poet who wrote nearly 1,800 poems, most of them unpublished in her lifetime, on nature, death, faith and the inner life.

“After great pain, a formal feeling comes.”

“I'm Nobody! Who are you? Are you – Nobody – Too?”

“The Soul selects her own Society – Then – shuts the Door –”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“The wound is the place where the light enters you.”

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”

“Only in the darkness can you see the stars.”

“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

“Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.”

“Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.”