Village Blacksmith, The Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Village Blacksmith, The

Rating: 3.3


Under a spreading chestnut tree
The village smithy stands;
The Smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.

His hair is crisp, and black, and long,
His face is like the tan;
His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate'er he can
And looks the whole world in the face
For he owes not any man.

Week in, week out, from morn till night,
You can hear his bellows blow;
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,
With measured beat and slow,
Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
When the evening sun is low.

And children coming home from school
Look in at the open door;
They love to see the flaming furge,
And hear the bellows roar,
And catch the burning sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshing floor.

He goes on Sunday to the church
and sits among his boys;

He hears the parson pray and preach.
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!

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Joanna Wiedel 24 January 2022

Kil

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William Sherratt 28 March 2006

Line 3 Verse 4..........Forge or Furge. A 'Geordie' from Newcastle - on - Tyne, England, would probably pronounce the word as Furge.

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Karm Arger 13 January 2006

Sorry, I had meant to say that the last word in line 3 of verse 4 should read 'forge'.

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Karm Arger 10 January 2006

A correcton is needed here; the last word in verse four should read 'forge'.

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