“The Thing with Feathers”

Dickinson named it hope
a birdlike description
to call lightness to mind
but the thing with feathers
is only the vaguest outline
vultures have feathers
raptors do as well
what is hope?
some bird of prey,
perched in waiting readiness
to swoop and pounce?
Dickinson gave us language
of comfort and light
some indomitable spirit
to bring brightness
to the darker moments
but horror asks for
her pound of flesh as well
demanding a balance
between two worlds
hope and horror
holding us in place – Caroline A. Slee