For our penultimate session, we read and discussed Emily Dickinson’s “’Hope’ is the thing with feathers.” Students have taken note of em dashes in previous poems, but not to the extent they appear here; also, hearing it read aloud demonstrated how intuitively readers interpreted those dashes as places to pause, likening the poem’s text to a musical score. Eccentric capitalization of certain words (Gale, Bird, Sea, Extremity) as well as the poem’s use of both full (or exact) and slant rhyme additionally drove our conversations, along with unpacking Dickinson’s powerfully metaphorical language.
The concept of hope inspired this week’s selections. Enjoy!
Ms. Kawa, 4th Grade
Hidden Light
Hope B.
Hope is courage from deep inside
it pushes you forward
when you wish to hide
Hope brings a light
stronger than darkness
it pulls you out of shadows
and into the brightness
When you want to give in
hope keeps you fighting
fighting for what’s right
Hope Is Our Wishes
Audrey D.
Hope is the Gem at the bottom of the sea
that keeps us sane through/
gunshots/
dropped bombs/
lonely nights
Hope is the thing we roll through our fingers
to keep us warm during
winter nights/
too-long days/
lost times
Hope is the bucket of water we think of
Hope is the warm bed—
we wish we had
Hope is the thing that ends the war/
Hope is the thing that stops the horror
Hope is the reason we sleep at night.
Hope is the reason we end the fight.
Hope is the reason the black Smoke recedes—to leave us in peace.
A Blessing of God
Noah D.
Hope a wish, or not.
“I hope for help”
or even having faith in someone or something.
You can Hope and it will happen!
Thanks God! Hoping can be a “do.” I guess
you can Hope, while Hope could be a person.
A wish, or even a pity of freedom
“We still have hope” see?
A word granted from God.
Thank you! Again.
Well, that is just what I think
is a blessing from the Gods,
Hope, a word of plenty.
Dear Friend Hope
Sasha E.
The feeling of Hope
Hope for this
Hope for that
The feeling of kinds and everything
Hope
Friends and feeling
everything
The feeling of Hope.
Dear friend Hope!
“Hope”
Zion I.
Hope is a light
A light that shines bright
Inside
It is a bug and it eats you up
With good feeling.
No sadness
Only gladness.
Hope is a light.
Wanting
Marcus L.
I wish this would happen.
I hope this will change.
I want this to go away.
I hope, I wish, I want,
THIS TO STOP.
Please, end this.
“tap”
Mira T.
Hope, is what you dream of.
Hope is what is deep inside us
if you Really hope,
why not do?
All these Tears,
feeling Sorry for yourself
Hope bothers us,
Taps you on the shoulder
when you turn around,
nothing
Hope has the audacity
to vanish,
to call you names,
so you’re Scared?
To chase, you’re hope,
to kill that hope of Yours
and accomplish your hope,
you tapped it on the shoulder
did it,
vanished,
gone,
new one, tapped you,
vanished
Ms. Nelson, 4th Grade
Hope Is Only a Thing
Deanna G.
You can always hope for something to come true
but, it doesn’t always happen
if you’re lost in the woods and you hope for your mom
to find you she might not find you
hope is a lie something that doesn’t come true
I hope you hope too!
I hope for the best of me! I know that will come true!
I just have to believe then “bam!” it comes true
well I hope you understand what I think hope means!
“Hope”
Hareen F.
Hope is my bed.
Hope is my mom.
Hope is my dad.
Although nothing
it’s everything.
When there is no hope,
they give me hope,
and when I run out,
they get me more.
“Hopefully I’m Not a Disappointment”
Amal H.
Please I’m sorry
we said it’s okay
you put too much on
your plate!
Sorry!
It’s okay just
work on school
work 2-3 hours.
I have to do
2-3 hours of
school work!
Well do you want
to pass the next
time?
Yes…
Then it’s done.
You will be
doing 2-3 hours
of school work.
Think about It
Ibi H.
Starving countries
No water
No food
No shelter—
Have hope,
When you are in your bed
Warm
They are starving
Don’t complain
It’s not working
See what you want to see
But I see them
Effort
My Hopes and Dreams
Francesca W.
I have hope in my heart.
Hope in my lungs
And hope in my eyes
Hope in my brain
There’s hope in my ears
Hope is fingers
Down to my toes.
I have dreams and hope
And others do too
I have hopes and dreams.
So well do you?
A Million Things
Hannah W.
I hoped that I would
and I hoped that I could.
Although I do know that I know that I probably most likely should.
For you can hope for a million things.
For silver or golden
or diamond rings.
But who said they they would all come true?
Mr. O’Brien, 4th Grade
Untitled
Darsh A.
I hope that I’ll listen
I hope for a better day
I hope that I’ll do good
I hope that I’ll get my
watch back
Untitled
Emiliano G.
Hope I won in a video game
and hope is lucky for me and luck is
to win in that video game is for
lucky kids
Hope Is Like a Bird
León H.
hope is like a bird spreading
its wings flying into the sky
hope is any color a bird is about
the same hope can feel like
shame
The Last Out
Will S.
Up to the plate
2 outs
Bottom of the ninth
In up to bat
Swing
Rounding first
Passing second
Coming from home
The last out
Won the game
Ms. Lyons, 4th Grade
Hope
Oliver B.
is what keeps people going
it’s what makes dreams
it’s also a big disappointment
it’s a thing to be meddled with
it’s also nice to have
but for me . . .
it’s OK just fine.
Family Hope
Kendall C.
I hope I can see my bestie again
My brother hopes he can see clearly
My stepmom hopes my brother is healthy
My dad hopes his hair grows back
My mom hopes she gets her goal at work
My bestie hopes her fish comes back
My dog hopes she gets a belly rub
Bird
Charlotte F.
my bird hopes for food
my bird hopes for yummy food
my bird hopes for pets
my bird hopes for a mirror
my bird hopes for water
Hope
Daniel G.
I hope I get money and I hope I go to
sleep at 1:00 and don’t leave the house
but stay
I hope I get really great better
and no home work and good food
with mac ‘n’ cheese and go to the
Willis Tower
NBA Dream
Ebio H.
I hope that I make it to the NBA
so I can make my mom and dad proud.
I can win awards, trophies, and good ones too.
And do the best
and be the best I can be.
Ms. Makris, 4th Grade
Hope
Victoria B.
People hope for things like good
grades, to be wealthy.
But that’s not all.
But what they should hope
for is family to stay alive,
friendships to last longer,
or even people to be kinder.
Everyone can hope even though
they may not get.
You may hope for anything you desire
but you may not receive.
Hope is something that people use
to hope for good luck, hope they get better,
and hope for you to get better.
Hope is something good but can
be bad bad it matters what you
hope for.
Untitled
Miguel C.
hope means 4
you hope something to
happen
What Hope Means to Me
Jack K.
What hope means to me is
something great, beautiful,
graceful a thing for no other
it comes in all different shapes
and sizes you can have it
you cannot but the one
thing that’s most important
is that it isn’t an it a thing
a who or a what it is
I Hope
Jon O.
I hope to get better at games.
I hope I’ll be healthier.
I hope I’ll be smarter.
I hope I’ll put in hard work into
anything. Hope means a lot to people.
And I hope my pets live and long and
happy life.
I Want It
Zibby S.
I want it
it’s her
her name
Ainsley
My hope
it’s her
nice
sweet
Timing
time
she helps
my friend
my hope
my life
Hope means
Ainsley
she is
my very last
hope
my friend
Untitled
Jack S.
Hey, I cheer for peace.
But 2015 is very inauspicious,
First the Russian war and the food ward,
My dreams are quickly destroyed.
Please don’t say I’m spreading rumors,
Batch after batch of new arms.
Ah, the world is not peaceful again.
Hope
Starr W.
Hope is something—
you wish is going to
happen like I hope
you will have a nice day.
I use the word hope a
lot like saying to my
brother “hope you have
a nice day in class”
also I think the word
hope is a really nice and
interesting word anyway
that’s what I think
the word hope means
I use it a lot—
