"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 out there, traveling around. Just like that, when we say something kind or do something nice, we don’t always see what happens, but it can make someone feel happy or special.
Imagine you told a friend a funny joke, but they didn’t laugh right away. Maybe they remember it later and laugh, or even tell it to someone else! Longfellow’s poem is saying that nice words or kind actions are a lot like that—they can spread around and find new places to make people smile. It’s like sending good vibes out into the world!
So, next time you sing a song, say something nice, or do a good deed, think of it as sending an “arrow” or a “song” out into the world. You never know how far it’ll go or who it will reach, but it might come back to you one day as something wonderful, just like Longfellow’s song that he found in a friend’s heart. This poem shows us how being kind or creative can bring little surprises back into our lives!