I found again in the heart of a friend I shot an arrow into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where; For, so swiftly it flew, the sight Could not follow it in its flight.   I breathed a song into the air, For who has sight so keen and strong, That it can follow the flight of song? Long, long afterward, in an oak I found the arrow, still unbroke; And the song, from beginning to end, I found again in the heart of a friend At last I can be with you! The grinding hours Since I left your side! The labor of being fully human, Working my opposable thumb, Talking, and walking upright. Now I have unclasped Unzipped, stepped out of. Husked, soft, a be-er only, I do nothing, but point My bare feet into your Clean smoothness Feel your quiet strength The whole length of my body. I close my eyes, hear myself Moan, so grateful to be held this way. Poems

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow By Austin Lewis The Arrow and The Song By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow By Austin Lewis

Biographical Info Henry Longfellow's 2nd wife had died by burns from her dress catching fire, this made it difficult for Longfellow to write poetry for some time, this may have influenced this poem. He wrote this poem while in church and some could say that this poem was an improvisation.

I shot an arrow into the air, A It fell to earth, I knew not where; A For, so swiftly it flew, the sight B Could not follow it in its flight. B   I breathed a song into the air, A For who has sight so keen and strong, C That it can follow the flight of song? C Long, long afterward, in an oak D I found the arrow, still unbroke; D And the song, from beginning to end, E I found again in the heart of a friend. E Structure of the Poem Longfellow uses 4 lines in each stanza, there is a total of 3 stanzas There is rhyme scheme and there are 6 pairs of rhymes

Speaker of the Poem & Literal Meaning I shot an arrow into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where; For, so swiftly it flew, the sight Could not follow it in its flight.   I breathed a song into the air, For who has sight so keen and strong, That it can follow the flight of song? Long, long afterward, in an oak I found the arrow, still unbroke; And the song, from beginning to end, I found again in the heart of a friend. Speaker of the Poem & Literal Meaning the speaker of this poem is a man who obviously shooting a bow and arrow, but the song may be the whistle of the arrow flying through the sky. He has strong vision but he loses sight of the arrow but finds it later along with the song.

I shot an arrow into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where; For, so swiftly it flew, the sight Could not follow it in its flight.   I breathed a song into the air, For who has sight so keen and strong, That it can follow the flight of song? Long, long afterward, in an oak I found the arrow, still unbroke; And the song, from beginning to end, I found again in the heart of a friend. Figurative Meaning It says that the arrow was so swift it could not be followed in its flight as if he could not see the repercussions of something he has done or said to someone to hurt them or what you do affects something somewhere else and it may not be clear where it has gone until you have found it

I shot an arrow into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where; For, so swiftly it flew, the sight Could not follow it in its flight.   I breathed a song into the air, For who has sight so keen and strong, That it can follow the flight of song? Long, long afterward, in an oak I found the arrow, still unbroke; And the song, from beginning to end, I found again in the heart of a friend. Literary Elements End rhyme- every rhyme has a pair at the end of the next line. Couplet- two lines that rhyme and have the same metre Sensory Details- sight, sound, smell, touch, taste Assonance- the repetition of vowel sounds in several words Lyric Poem- emotional song like poem

Theme The theme of the poem is we must watch our actions because they might have a stretched effect where the consequences could occur at anytime, even way after it happened.

Works Cited http://www.shadowofiris.com/the- arrow-and-the-song-by-henry-w- longfellow/ https://jenkins5th.wordpress.com/ 2013/08/27/poem-of-the-month- the-arrow-and-the-song/ http://www.darkhaven.us/2014/04 /why-read-the-wind-is-a-great- trait/ https://beamingnotes.com/2015/0 2/20/arrow-song-analysis-henry- wadsworth-longfellow/