A Poem for Y'all

[gmbobnick]

The Village Blacksmith

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - 1807-1882

 

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 forge,
     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.

This poem is in the public domain.

 

[George N. M.]

One problem with that poem is that it has resulted in blacksmiths being called "smithy."  Folk think the first 2 lines refer to the person rather than the building.  It is like calling an auto mechanic "garage."

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

Gmbibnick,

That’s a good poem, it pops up on here every now an then, 

I also like Kiplings cold iron poem,

Geroge imma little confused by your comment, it says the village smithy stands under a tree an then says the “smith” a mighty man,

I don’t take it as it referring to the smith as the smithy but maybe I’m reading it wrong?

 

[George N. M.]

The smithy is beneath the chestnut tree and the smith is working within the smithy.  The first 2 lines set the stage and then the poem goes into describing the smith. Substitute "garage" for "smithy" and "mechanic" for "smith" to get a more contemporary sense of it.  It is sort of inconsistent if "smithy" and "smith" both refer to the man.  It keeps the meter but that is all.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."