Still here.
Always looking for . . .
Lately, I’ve been thinking about Emily Dickinson’s famous lines about hope . . .
“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
Maybe . . . it isn’t just “the thing with feathers,” though.
Maybe . . . it’s the egg!
I came across Letter to Tomorrow, a lovely poem by Jackie Morris, and she proposes that hope . . . is an egg. (You might already be familiar with Jackie Morris as she is one of the author/illustrators of The Lost Words and The Lost Spells — absolutely beautiful books that are worth a look.)
Then . . . I discovered this delightful video illustrating her poem. It’s lovely. And a wonderful reminder about the power of nature . . . even in the dead of winter. (It’s short; go ahead and watch. You won’t be sorry.)
In her hand she holds an egg . . .
Hope.
=====
Here’s to a hopeful, rest-filled weekend for all of us.
=====
If you’d like to read the full text of Jackie Morris’ Letter to Tomorrow, you can click here. And if you’re interested in learning more about Jackie Morris and her work, you can click here to visit her website.
That’s a very cool video and Fred & George particularly appreciated the bird sounds in the background! Thanks for the reminder to always look for hope, in whatever form it appears.
Thanks for this ode to hope this morning. I had a discussion with a friend yesterday and we bemoaned all the bad news and the state of the world. I am sending her this poem. Thank you for it and the opportunity to look at more of Jackie Morris’ work.
Love the video and thank you for the links. I just spent a ton of time on her web site and am now following her on IG. What talent! Wishing you a beautiful weekend filled with HOPE!
How beautiful that poem is, and how beautifully the video accompanies the words. Thank you for bringing it to our attention. I’ll be thinking of it for a long time: during and long after my walk today. Thanks.
Oh my! The poem I did not know I needed today… thank you! (and I simply love Jackie Morris’ artwork… it is so beautiful!)
Have a great weekend! XO
That was such an interesting video to watch, and thinking of an egg as a metaphor for hope is particularly apt for me today — I just cracked a couple for challah, and making bread for me is always about hope!
We love Jackie Morris in this house. I have a copy of Lost Spells on my desk and often open it up when I sit down there to work. We have many of her books, my daughter loves her artwork it is visually stunning.
We have to have hope don’t we, all is lost if we don’t.
I saw that video awhile back. It is simply wonderful. Today is a day we could all use some hope. Come to think about it, every day is a day for hope. Thanks for reminding me to find the text of that poem.
I love the egg idea! Hope can be hard to find, but that is it’s very nature, isn’t it? That we WILL find Hope. In every positive thing we do, including breaking eggs for challah or dusting the furniture or teaching algebra or forging treaties or finding cures for cancer. Hope is all around us. Even when the whole world is going to hell in a hand-basket. Which right now it really, really is. Still there is Hope.
The video was captivating. I really enjoyed it. I’ve decided on hope as a way to get to keep motivation, to not give in, or give up, or crawl into a hole to weep. You could me a pollyanna but I’m enjoy the view from here.
Thanks for sharing that. Jackie Morris is a new poet to me – and what a lovely video. A good start to my day, that otherwise started with Morning Edition — and the temptation to despair. Hope
Lovely, Kym – thank you! I need to make more space in my weeks to read blogs … this is lovely on a Monday but I wish I’d seen it Friday!