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 it’s 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.
Which led me to wonder, in our era of social media, where we throw out cruel words with impunity...what his poem might sound like today:
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 it’s flight
I threw an insult into the air
It fell to earth, I knew not where
It may be unkind...it may be unfair
But I don’t know...and I don’t care.
Long, long afterward in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And that insult I chose to throw
Has caused more damage than I’ll ever know.
Perhaps Longfellow lived in a simpler time...filled with sweeter music and innocent rhymes
But oh, for that fellow’s time I long...where we’d throw fewer insults and breathe more songs.
