Hope~

is the thing with feathers,

(seagulls fishing Washington state)

that perches in the soul,

(puffin in the open ocean off Washington state)

and sings the tune without the words,

and never stops, at all.

(Steller’s jay California).

I’ve heard it in the chillest land,

and on the strangest sea,

(dark-eyed junco California)

yet never in extremity,

(American robin Washington state)


it asked a crumb of me.

(red winged blackbird Washington state)

Cheers to you from Emily & her winged harbingers of hope~

Poem extracts, ‘Hope is the Thing With Feathers,’ Emily Dickinson.


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209 thoughts on “Hope~

  1. Gorgeous pics as always Cindy. I have been looking at Dickinson’s poem this afternoon so it was lovely to see your related post in the in-box! X

  2. That has to be true Cindy, because they manage very well in this world. They spread so much joy with their birdsong and beauty.
    Leslie xoxo

    1. I always miss them by a feather. Seeing them in the ocean was quite unexpected. We are heading to The Faroe Islands soon and they should be there in mass so I can hopefully get close to lots of them. I am excited that you will travel to them too and very much look forward to your photos.

  3. I’m so lucky to see these birds😊 Especially I love the puffin. I don’t know well about the differnce between puffin and etupirka however etupirka means beautiful beak as Ainu language.

    1. Wow! I am fascinated. The puffin and etupirka are the same bird. I didn’t know about the Ainu language. Thank you for expanding my borders and vocabulary. See: “Name etymology
      Etupirka is from the Ainu name for the Tufted puffin (Fratercula cirrhata). In the katakana alphabet used for the Ainu language, it would actually be rendered エト゚ピㇼカ, but the pronunciation エトピリカ is more common in everyday Japanese.” (https://wiki.telefang.net/Etupirka_(Natural)

  4. These birdies are gorgeous! Our Midwest Robins are way fatter than this guy, but I don’t recall ever seeing a Junco here. Our Jays are more white and blue, and I’ve never managed to get this close to a red winged blackbird.

    1. Awww, thanks so much Debbie. The red-wings are touchy aren’t they. I saw them once being fed, but didn’t have my camera. It was a rare opportunity which I missed.

  5. Pingback: Smorgasbord Blogger Daily – Monday January 27th 2020 – #Writerlinks D.G. Kaye, #Funnies The Story Reading Ape, #Photography Cindy Knoke | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

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