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.
希望是長著翅膀的鳥兒,
棲居在人們的靈魂之中,
吟唱著沒有歌詞的曲調(diào),
永無止息。
在風暴中它的歌聲最為甜美;
風暴必然會帶來痛苦,
風暴會令小鳥窘困驚慌,
它卻留給我們?nèi)缢箿嘏?/p>
我已在最荒寒的陸地上,
聽到過它的歌唱,
也在最陌生的海洋中聽到,
但它縱然身處絕境,
也不向我索取分毫。