by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)
The Broken Oar
Language: English
Once upon Iceland's solitary strand A poet wandered with his book and pen, Seeking some final word, some sweet Amen, Wherewith to close the volume in his hand. The billows rolled and plunged upon the sand, The circling sea-gulls swept beyond his ken, And from the parting cloud-rack now and then Flashed the red sunset over sea and land. Then by the billows at his feet was tossed A broken oar; and carved thereon he read, Oft was I weary, when I toiled at thee; And like a man, who findeth what was lost, He wrote the words, then lifted up his head, And flung his useless pen into the sea.
Confirmed with Longfellow's Poetical Works, London : Henry Frowde, 1893.
Authorship:
- by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "The Broken Oar" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875 - 1912), "The Broken Oar", 1893 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2022-01-06
Line count: 14
Word count: 111