Out of the bosom of the Air
Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken,
Over the woodlands brown and bare,
Over the harvest-fields forsaken,
Silent, and soft, and slow
Descends the snow.
Even as our cloudy fancies take
Suddenly shape in some divine expression,
Even as the troubled heart doth make
In the white countenance confession
The troubled sky reveals
The grief it feels.
This is the poem of the air,
Slowly in silent syllables recorded;
This is the secret of despair,
Long in its cloudy bosom hoarded,
Now whispered and revealed
To wood and field.
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utter beauty
From guest dancerette (contact)
Before this poem was written, his wife's dress caught on fire and she died. You can see the way he draws the snow and the ashes she was enveloped in together. His sorrow comes through so well in this poem it hits me hard. -
a visitor from china
From guest David (contact)
I remember some words which was written by Longfellow," the first winter snow comes, falling down silently, all night long, all day long",I want the original lines, but i can find it anywhere. -
good, reminds me of my first encounter with snow
i love this poem as it evokes my memory of my first encounter with winter in japan. the snow fell like cotton swirling in the wind. i wrote this haiku about the first snow;
first snow
what else but
dancing cotton -
nice
i like this poem as the object it is refering to is a snowflake, and is beautifully crafted so as to personify. -
A beautiful Poem
I read in the poem that the clouds released the snow,silently and softly fell the lovely flakes. And the wind whispered to the woods and fields as the snow flakes gently fell and covered everything.
Katie Lazette -
Simply Beautiful
I have a small volume which purports to be a collection of "H.W.Longfellow's best poems."
I, frankly, cannot understand how the selector/s overlooked this one.
Few can encapsulate such imagery so deftly or with such articulation.
Why is this poem not better known?
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Possibly the poem was not included because it was not written by Wordsworth!!
Wordsworth and Wadsworth are two very good but very different poets.
Jim S
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Easy to read
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Great Images
Feel how strongly he pulls us along through the path of snowflakes, whirling over the earth. Longfellow's voice is one of my favorites in oldpoetry. "This is the poem of the air" metaphorical talking to the reader, PROVING the beauty of the moment. -
This poem needs more depth, but other than that i think it describes us as the clouds or nature. For example, when we are depressed it makes are personality dark, just like how the clouds get dark when they are gloomy or sad
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