Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Hope

It's still sinking in, that we won tonight. I promise to have some poetry up soon, but as I was watching this evening wind down, listening to President Obama speak, these words of Emily Dickinson seemed to float into my brain, so I'll leave them with you all till I am up and running again. Thanks everyone, for bearing with me through my political high anxiety.
“Hope” is the thing with feathers - (314)

~By Emily Dickinson

“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.





 Image: The Promise, by Rene Magritte, 1966
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22 comments:

  1. LydiaNovember 7, 2012 at 4:24 AM

    Beautiful and perfect, just like the outcome of the election! I have been angst-filled these weeks prior and am now filled with such utter joy (which is why I wanted to visit Joy before I signed out for the night). We are blessed!

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  2. Brian MillerNovember 7, 2012 at 5:33 AM

    smiles....def a great exclamation point on the evening...when done i just went to bed to sleep and today i think we need to wake up and begin to work toward some healing and bringing back together a much divided nation....

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  3. ScottNovember 7, 2012 at 5:33 AM

    So sweetly explained. She makes it feel like it's in us and all around us. A presence almost. Uplifting and energizing.

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  4. AnonymousNovember 7, 2012 at 6:23 AM

    Hope asked more than a crumb of you this time and you gave it!

    She (Emily Dickinson) is so good. I'm still having a hard time digesting all here. I was so worried about days of contested states etc. which would have been so terrible for the country.

    I feel sorry for those whose candidate lost as I know how crushed I would have felt, though it's possible that they did not have the same attachment to him. But I know there will be hard work just getting over this divide. (Still the divide was there before the election - it brought it out - but it is pretty bad.) Each side has a very great deal of difficulty accepting even the legitimacy of the other. A matter of listening I think. k.

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  5. RuthNovember 7, 2012 at 6:33 AM

    Wonderful connection.

    I keep trying to put myself into the skin of those who lost, and I struggle to understand the viewpoint.

    But it's a hallelujah moment.

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  6. Grandmother MaryNovember 7, 2012 at 6:34 AM

    I like to think that you opening your blog to dialogue about the election helped the outcome as part of the rising tide. I'm proud of the gay marriage initiatives winning as well and the 18 point gender gap. Good for us! In the face of the unknown, hope makes as much sense.

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  7. SusanNovember 7, 2012 at 9:04 AM

    Thank you.

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  8. Sherry Blue SkyNovember 7, 2012 at 10:32 AM

    I hear you, kiddo. I was really discouraged and hopeless, given devastation of the eastern seaboard and my anxiety about the election. It is good to have some relief and hope this morning. But it will be hard to make much progress forward if the opposition stays oppositional.

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  9. flaubertNovember 7, 2012 at 1:30 PM

    This poem by Emily is so appropriate for the occasion. The US has much healing to do, I know many friends and families were divided over this election, including me with some of my own. I am hoping we can put this behind us, and realize that while it was a close race, the best man did win. We have got to work together, so the nation can move forward. I have one advantage not living in the country, when I don't want to hear the vitriol from my family or friends, I can turn off the computer or not answer the phone. Thanks for posting this, Joy Ann.

    Pamela

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  10. DulceNovember 7, 2012 at 4:26 PM

    Thank you
    D.
    xxooxx

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  11. MargaretNovember 7, 2012 at 7:23 PM

    I have hope that in four years...

    Ha ha. I so hope that the parties can work together without compromising the things that are important to each. A very hard thing to do, but I believe possible. Thank you for the kind words. It was very generous and they meant a lot.

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    Replies
    1. hedgewitchNovember 7, 2012 at 7:59 PM

      Believe me, I remember Dwight Eisenhower, and I know the Republican party has dome a lot for America, from ending slavery to building the interstate highways, just as my party has landmark achievements. Both sides have something important to contribute. I firmly believe everyone benefits when we have a strong, accountable two party system where all the people are represented, and both sides show the strength to compromise to make sure everyone prospers and has a level playing field.

      Thanks for coming by, Margaret, and I hope that we all can learn to see the best and not the worst in our opponents across the aisle. Hugs to you on a hard day.

      Delete
  12. ClaudiaNovember 7, 2012 at 8:55 PM

    love that poem...hope is something so precious...for me it was very special to be here in the states during the election..felt the tension def. and the whole world was watching you...

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  13. FireblossomNovember 7, 2012 at 9:17 PM

    We won! How about that?!

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  14. Arron ShillingNovember 7, 2012 at 9:35 PM


    4 more years!
    now its time
    to shine

    pull together
    for the whole, drop the venom
    and stop tying the big guys hands.
    and to get things nice and tidy
    in time for Hilary:

    things are looking up already
    and Hope - excellent choice Hedge

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    Replies
    1. goatmanNovember 9, 2012 at 2:58 PM

      Saw Boehner today; he will not give an inch.
      Grover Norquist still has them by the balls!

      Delete
  15. Dave KingNovember 8, 2012 at 6:31 AM

    I, too, am glad you won!

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  16. Other MaryNovember 8, 2012 at 8:28 PM

    :o)

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  17. my heart's love songsNovember 9, 2012 at 5:36 AM

    LOVE the poem! grateful Obama won but i have barely a shred of hope that the Republicans will put partisanship aside, despite Romney's pretty concession speech. {sigh}

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  18. goatmanNovember 9, 2012 at 2:55 PM

    She is truly a master of poetic expression.
    Thanks for the reminder.

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  19. GraceNovember 9, 2012 at 4:36 PM

    I enjoyed the drama and finally the proclamation of the winner ~

    Happy to see Obama's victory ~ Great piece by Emily D ~

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  20. John (@bookdreamer)November 11, 2012 at 3:48 AM

    Good poem for a victory of the centre left in USA. Oh and one in the eye for all those 'experts' who said too close to call or victory for the republicans. Was reading about a poll aggregator that combines and evens out the strengths and weaknesses of individual polls and so has been saying 330 and 206 for months!

    ReplyDelete

"We make out of the quarrel with others, rhetoric, out of the quarrel with ourselves, poetry." ~William Butler Yeats

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