Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s (27th February, 1807) ‘A Psalm of Life’ is a prayer to mankind to ‘Be a hero in the strife‘ called Life! It is a didactic poem, full of optimism. The poet reminds us to live in the present and lead a righteous life.
Act,— act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!
Another poem that comes to my mind on his birthday is ‘The Arrow and the Song’, a simple yet symbolic poem. An arrow was shot swiftly into the air and a song was gently breathed into the air, both were lost and later found by the speaker. They both had reached their destinations. The arrow has hit the target in tact. It could be symbolic of angry words or actions that hurt others. The song has reached a friend’s heart, spreading joy. Words and actions can be harming or uplifting .
I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
…….
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.
Your poetry will be remembered and would live forever like the Song in your poem…I have quoted you many times in my blog posts. Happy Birthday Longfellow!
House Sparrow 
I just was quoting Longfellow in response to a fellow blogger tonight. We’d be talking about the sea, and beaches, and how we respond to them. I recalled “The tide rises, the tide falls…” I do love Longfellow, and have since I first read him. Happy Birthday, indeed!
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