The Herons of Elmwood
On a still summer night, a riverside wanderer hears herons flying over a poet's house and asks them to sing to him of freedom and flight. The speaker asks the birds to convey a friendly greeting and reflects on the silent homage paid by other visitors.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Nature Poetry, Lyric Poetry · 409 words
First lines
Warm and still is the summer night, / As here by the river's brink I wander; / White overhead are the stars, and white / The glimmering lamps on the hillside yonder.
Silent are all the sounds of day; / Nothing I hear but the chirp of crickets, / And the cry of the herons winging their way / O'er the poet's house in the Elmwood thickets.
Genres
- Nature Poetry — Herons crossing a summer night prompt descriptions of marshes, winds, mist, and the landscape seen from flight.
- Lyric Poetry — A first-person speaker addresses the herons in rhymed quatrains, turning a riverside walk into a private greeting to a poet.
Tags
herons · summer night · bird flight · freedom · poetic homage
What this Textopian page supports
The Herons of Elmwood 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: Nature Poetry, Lyric Poetry
- Length: 409 words
- Structure: 1 section, 9 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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