Dickinson mentioned sparrows in several of her poems and letters. At 5-7", it is "little." Its familiar song is often three sweet notes followed by a bubbling trill, likened to Maids-Maids-Maids, put-on-your-teakettle, teakettle-ettle-ettle. Although several North American songbirds fit the description, the song sparrow is a year-round resident in much of North America and has certainly warmed the hearts of many. The poem gives some clues to the bird's identity: its sweet song, its small size, its popularity (kept so many warm), and its distribution (from the chillest land to the strangest sea). Yet, never in extremity, it asked a crumb of me. I've heard it in the chillest land, and on the strangest sea That could abash the little bird that kept so many warm. Sweetest in the gale is heard and sore must be the storm Sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all, and Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, and Susan Loy chose the song sparrow to illustrate Emily Dickinson's metaphor for hope, "the little bird that kept so many warm." Poetry Selections - "Hope is the Thing with Feathers" Hope is a Thing with Feathers Literary Calligraphy print has Emily Dickinson poem that is hand lettered and illustrated by artist Susan Loy
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