The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Born in Portland, Maine- when Maine was still apart of Massachusettes- on Feburary 27th. As a young boy, Longfellow loved to read and listen the foreign stories told on the Portland streets. After years of college and travel to and from Europe, he decided to devote his time to poetry in 1854. By the age of 58, his best work was finished and his health was failing him. Longfellow kept growing and growing in fame, as he became internationally-known. He was arguably the best-known poet of his time, and did outstanding work that is still relevant to today.
http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/henry-wadsworth-longfellow
The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls
The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;
Along the sea-sands damp and brown
The traveller hastens toward the town,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
Darkness settles on roofs and walls,
But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls;
The little waves, with their soft, white hands,
Efface the footprints in the sands,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls
Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;
The day returns, but nevermore
Returns the traveller to the shore,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.