A Day of Sunshine by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A speaker celebrates a day for play and simply being, feeling an almost overwhelming rush of life. Hearing wind in the trees and watching the sun cross the sky, the speaker compares them to music and a sailing ship, calls on the wind to carry cherry blossoms indoors, and asks whether the human heart can be as blithe and free as the air.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Nature Poetry · 274 words
First lines
O gift of God! O perfect day: / Whereon shall no man work, but play; / Whereon it is enough for me, / Not to be doing, but to be!
Through every fibre of my brain, / Through every nerve, through every vein, / I feel the electric thrill, the touch / Of life, that seems almost too much.
I hear the wind among the trees / Playing celestial symphonies; / I see the branches downward bent, / Like keys of some great instrument.
And over me unrolls on high / The splendid scenery of the sky, / Where though a sapphire sea the sun / Sails like a golden galleon,
Genres
- Lyric Poetry — Seven rhymed quatrains express a speaker's immediate sensations and joy, ending with a question addressed to the human heart.
- Nature Poetry — Wind among trees, the sun crossing the sky, and cherry and peach blossoms give concrete shape to the speaker's delight.
Tags
sunshine · leisure · vitality · wind · blossoms · joy
What this Textopian page supports
A Day of Sunshine is listed on Textopian as a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Nature Poetry
- Length: 274 words
- Structure: 1 section, 7 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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