散文："Hope" is the thing with feathers

"Hope" is the thing with feathers - 

That perches¹ in the soul - 

And sings the tune² without the words - 

And never stops - at all - 

 

And sweetest - in the Gale³ - is heard - 

And sore must be the storm - 

That could abash⁴ the little Bird 

That kept so many warm - 

 

I've heard it in the chillest land - 

And on the strangest Sea - 

Yet, never, in Extremity, 

It asked a crumb⁵ - of Me. 

 

Hope never fails. Hope's survival is personified by Emily through a bird having feathers that lives in our soul eternally, regardless of gender⁶ or race. The bird sings inside us wordlessly and continuously. Thus it is being described as a universal fluffy⁷ feeling to all people at all times that we cannot put into words or understand, yet we can sense or appreciate its effect and significance; and one does not stop hoping all the time. 

 

Instead of judging us, the loyal bird, whose song of hope sounds sweetest in forceful winds, comforts and guides us along the way when we go through hardships and get sore in the storm that could abash it. It asks for nothing from us, no matter how extreme the condition is. Hope is a precious thing that can warm our heart and soul in the chillest land or the strangest sea. 

 

“希望”是带羽毛的东西 - 

栖息在灵魂里 - 

它唱着无词的乐曲 - 

永远不会 - 停息 - 

 

在狂风中 - 听来 - 最甜蜜 - 

暴风雨一定会失意 - 

要将小鸟声音压低 

它曾使许多人感到温暖可依 - 

 

我听到过它，在最寒冷之地 - 

最陌生的海域 - 

但它，从不，在绝境里，

向我讨过一颗 - 面包粒。 

1 perches   

栖息处( perch的名词复数 )； 栖枝； 高处； 鲈鱼

参考例句：

• Other protection can be obtained by providing wooden perches througout the orchards. 其它保护措施是可在种子园中到处设置木制的栖木。
• The birds were hopping about on their perches and twittering. 鸟儿在栖木上跳来跳去，吱吱地叫着。

2 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

3 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

4 abash   

v.使窘迫，使局促不安

参考例句：

• Nothing could abash him.没有什么可以使他感到难堪。
• When the child see all the room fille with strangers,he is much abash.那小孩一看到满屋子都是陌生人，感到非常局促不安。

5 crumb   

n.饼屑，面包屑，小量

参考例句：

• It was the only crumb of comfort he could salvage from the ordeal.这是他从这场磨难里能找到的唯一的少许安慰。
• Ruth nearly choked on the last crumb of her pastry.鲁斯几乎被糕点的最后一块碎屑所噎住。

6 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

7 fluffy   

adj.有绒毛的，空洞的

参考例句：

• Newly hatched chicks are like fluffy balls.刚孵出的小鸡像绒毛球。
• The steamed bread is very fluffy.馒头很暄。