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 chilliest land-
And on the strangest sea-
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb-of me.
希望是长着翅膀的鸟儿，
栖居在人们的灵魂之中，
吟唱着没有歌词的曲调，
永无止息。
在风暴中它的歌声最为甜美;
风暴必然会带来痛苦，
风暴会令小鸟窘困惊慌，
它却留给我们如斯温暖。
我已在最荒寒的陆地上，
听到过它的歌唱，
也在最陌生的海洋中听到，
但它纵然身处绝境，
也不向我索取分毫。