Feb 27– Longfellow’s Poems(~1839-1182)

Fight The Powah be a Believer fly like a Butterfly or whatever song best represents your Brave Heart.

Feb 27– Longfellow’s Poems(~1839-1182)

Summary: It's an epic fantasy/space opera concept album.

Commentary: Who said the 19th century can't go hard? Why have I never read Longfellow before? I've taken however many poetry classes. I teach Brit Lit. This guy is awesome! Why don't we have more (modern) poetry about living life to the fullest, standing with your friends/family, remembering the bittersweet good times, and... anything other than how much life sucks, really?

A couple of my favorites to convince you GO READ THIS GUY!

Life is real! Life is earnest!

    And the grave is not its goal;

Dust thou art, to dust returnest,

    Was not spoken of the soul.

-- "A Psalm of Life"

Go. Live. Life.

And the first watch of night is given

  To the red planet Mars.

Is it the tender star of love?

  The star of love and dreams?

O no! from that blue tent above,

  A hero's armor gleams.

And earnest thoughts within me rise,

  When I behold afar,

Suspended in the evening skies,

  The shield of that red star.

-- "The Light of Stars"

You know ERB read this one.

 From the cool cisterns of the midnight air

    My spirit drank repose;

The fountain of perpetual peace flows there,—

    From those deep cisterns flows.

-- "Hymn To The Night"

For your vampire's backstory

 "The Wreck of The Hesperus"

Just read the whole thing!

  

   He hears his daughter's voice,

Singing in the village choir,

  And it makes his heart rejoice.

It sounds to him like her mother's voice,

  Singing in Paradise!

He needs must think of her once more,

  How in the grave she lies;

And with his hard, rough hand he wipes

  A tear out of his eyes.

Toiling,—rejoicing,—sorrowing,

  Onward through life he goes;

Each morning sees some task begin,

  Each evening sees it close

Something attempted, something done,

  Has earned a night's repose.

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,

For the lesson thou hast taught!

Thus at the flaming forge of life

  Our fortunes must be wrought;

Thus on its sounding anvil shaped

  Each burning deed and thought.

-- "The Blacksmith"

It's hard to do reasonable length excerpts when the poems are so good! 

 

And forever and forever,

  As long as the river flows,

As long as the heart has passions,

  As long as life has woes;

-- "The Bridge"

The bad never stops, but neither does the good.