This is the second stanza of “A Psalm of Life,” by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It is meant to inspire its readers to live actively, and to not regret the past, or to take the future for granted: “Learn to labor and to wait.”
I broke the poem into two pieces to keep the videos short, and also because the imagery between the stanzas is different. This stanza is based on the sea.
Lovely images, powerful poetry – Thank You.
We all need to read more Longfellow. He was so popular in the 19th century that his birthday was treated like a national holiday. Then came the 20th century and “death by academia.” Too bad for all of us. Also, apparently he was a totally sweet human being, too
Thanks David, I have always loved Longfellow. I remember when he was considered to be almost in a league with Shakespeare, but I don’t think anyone reads him much anymore. This was a fun project because his imagery is so great. I’m happy to hear he was a nice person too.
Thanks for watching it Pamela, and for your nice comments. Longfellow is a wonderful poet— it was fun to rediscover him.