The Arrow and the Song, Henry W. Longfellow

"The Arrow and the Song," a short poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, is about how even small actions can make a big difference. Using an arrow and a song, Longfellow shows that both things we can see and things we can’t see, like our words and kindness, can have lasting effects on the world and people around us. 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. Henry W. Longfellow. This poem is a bit like a mystery! Longfellow shoots an arrow and sings a song, but he doesn’t know where they’ll end up. It’s exciting to think that even though he can’t see them anymore, both the arrow and the song are still …