In the photo: Stefania Lucchetti at Teatro alla Scala, Milano

“There Is Nothing More Powerful Than Hope”

Excerpt from the poem “Art, Faith and Hope”, Stefania Lucchetti, Coffee Stains On My Books, 2024

“Art, Faith and Hope” in Coffee Stains On My Books is a poetic reflection on the transformative power of hope and the way this force intertwines with art, faith, and magic.

Hope is not a passive feeling but an act of creation, connection, and profound expression. It often manifests through the artistic sensitivity of a moment when the spirit rises above material concerns – a moment whose effects endure over time, creating the magic of transformation.

The aesthetic sense we experience in contexts where art elevates our senses – as often happens during the holiday season – amplifies hope, creating the magic that comes from the elevation of the spirit.

Art makes hope tangible; faith renders it spiritual and intimate; and the hope that emerges from both creates a sense of mystery and limitless possibility.

When art, faith, and hope merge, they become something sacred: like a prayer. Here, prayer is not meant solely as a religious ritual, but as a deep form of connection with the universe, a channel linking human interiority with something greater.

The magic of life – that spark that guides and sustains us – is nourished by these elements. In essence, art, faith, and hope are magical acts in themselves: ways through which human beings can create, transform, and psychologically endure life’s difficulties.

“Hope” by Emily Dickinson

I offer here a poem by the beloved poet Emily Dickinson, along with my Italian translation (with nuances different from what is usually found in published versions).

“When I hoped, I recollect
Just the place I stood –
At a Window facing West –
Roughest Air – was good –

Not a Sleet could bite me –
Not a frost could cool –
Hope it was that kept me warm –
Not Merino shawl –

When I feared –
I recollect Just the Day it was”

In my interpretation, the poem plays on the double meaning of “Just.”
I remember “exactly, precisely” every detail of the day I hoped.
I remember “only” the day I feared.

“Quando sperai ricordo
Precisamente il luogo dove stavo –
A una finestra rivolta verso Ovest –
L’aria più tagliente – era buona –

Il nevischio non poteva mordermi –
Il gelo non poteva raffreddarmi –
Era la speranza a tenermi calda –
Non lo scialle di Merino –

Quando temetti – mi ricordo
Soltanto il Giorno che fu.”

Translation by Stefania Lucchetti

In the pages of my books, hope has a powerful voice — not only as an ideal but as a living soul.

Across my collections Coffee Stains On My Books, Poetry is Cyberpunk,, and Afternoons of Suspended Love, hope is always a living character, one that carries intention forward.

InCoffee Stains On My Books , hope often appears as a light to follow to find renewal and rebirth after a difficult time.

In Afternoons of Suspended Love, hope propels love itself: our role and our voice within the realm of adult passion.

Finally, in Poetry is Cyberpunk, hope is an embodied soul, a character that lives physically within my poems.