“Hope” Is The Thing With Fethers -
artist: Sebastiano Magoni
The video shows a chest padded with feathers and nails. In the center, a sculpture of a bird is suspended by white threads glued to the chest.
J254 (1861) / F314 (1862)
“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –
And sweetest – in the gale – is heard –
And sore must be the storm –
That could abash 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 crumb – of me.
J254 (1861) / F314 (1862)
La “speranza” è la pennuta creatura –
La “speranza” è la pennuta creatura –
Che si posa sull’anima –
E canta melodie senza parole –
E non smette mai – proprio mai –
E dolcissima – nella brezza – è udita –
E violenta dev’essere la tempesta –
Che possa confondere l’uccellino
Che così tanti riscaldò –
L’ho udita nella landa più gelida –
E sul mare più remoto –
Eppure, mai, alla fine,
Ha chiesto un briciolo – di me.
artwork by
What is hope? An illusion that warms us like an extinguished fire would, or a force that embraces us to carry us forward? Do the threads build the bird that takes flight, or do they hold it back, preventing it from flying? Is hope something positive or negative?