A Psalm of Life
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
1807 to 1882
Track 1
Reconstruct the poem by dragging each line into its correct position. Your goal is to reassemble the original poem as accurately as possible. As you move the lines, you'll see whether your arrangement is correct, helping you explore the poem's flow and meaning. You can also print out the jumbled poem to cut up and reassemble in the classroom. Either way, take your time, enjoy the process, and discover how the poet's words come together to create something truly beautiful.
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Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
In the world's broad field of battle,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Seeing, shall take heart again.
With a heart for any fate;
Funeral marches to the grave.
Find us farther than today.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
And the grave is not its goal;
Is our destined end or way;
Let us, then, be up and doing,
Footprints on the sands of time;—
We can make our lives sublime,
Lives of great men all remind us
Life is but an empty dream!
What the heart of the young man said to the Psalmist
Heart within, and God o'erhead!
Learn to labor and to wait.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And things are not what they seem.
Was not spoken of the soul.
And, departing, leave behind us
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
But to act, that each tomorrow
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
Act,—act in the living Present!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Life is real! Life is earnest!
In the bivouac of Life,
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Be a hero in the strife!