24/02/2026
The Arrow and the Song" is one of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s most famous and enduring short lyrics, first published in his 1845 collection, The Belfry of Bruges and Other Poems.
It is a simple yet profound allegory about the lasting, often unseen impact of our actions and words.
The poem follows a parallel structure across three brief stanzas.
The speaker shoots an arrow into the air. It flies so swiftly that he cannot track its flight, and it eventually falls to earth in a location unknown to him.
The speaker breathes a song into the air. Like the arrow, he cannot follow its path; he muses that no human sight is keen enough to follow the flight of a song.
Many years later, the speaker finds both items. He finds the arrow, still unbroken, embedded in the trunk of an oak tree. More significantly, he finds the song "from beginning to end" living in the heart of a friend.
