In the line 'Hope is the thing with feathers', the poet is using a/an

Directions: Read the given poem and answer the question that follows by selecting the most appropriate option.
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 chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
Emily Dickinson