Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE ARROW AND THE SONG by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

Poem Explanation Poet Analysis

First Line: I SHOT AN ARROW INTO THE AIR, / IT FELL TO THE EARTH, I KNOW NOT WHERE
Last Line: I FOUND AGAIN IN THE HEART OF A FRIEND.
Subject(s): ARROWS; FRIENDSHIP;
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,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
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.



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