Poetry Out Loud

          For Poetry Out Loud I have decided to recite "The Psalm of Life" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This is a very long poem consisting of 36 lines.It also has a lot of deep meaning that took me a while to interpret but after a while I got the hang of it and was able to understand that the title was very literal. Every stanza was a rule of how to live a fruitful life.

          The poem expresses how small we are in the great expanse of the world, how we are all connected and must help each other through life. But the stanza that struck me most of all was the one that described how we must take charge of our lives to make a difference. How our dreams are dependent on us and to achieve them we can look only to ourselves. I have struggled for a while to take the initiative and work hard enough to achieve my goals. To run after the things I want instead of letting them pass me by. After reading this poem I decided I wanted to set goals for myself, so that I could have a better chance of achieving my dreams. Its hard to have to think about what life will be like in ten, twenty, thirty years, but I know that by planning ahead I will be ready for whatever is thrown  at me.

          This poem has inspired me to live a more productive life. It has taught me to "be a hero in the strife" as it has done for many people in the last 180 years and will continue to do so for as long as poetry stays close to our hearts.