A Psalm of Life - H. W. Longfellow (Powerful Life Poetry)

Read by Tom O'bedlam
Music by Whitesands
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and writer who was revered for his lyric poetry, which often presented stories of mythology and legend. He became one of the most popular American poets of his day and had much success overseas.

[@TheSaltydog07]

My mother worked in a textile factory, and she raised eight children, much of the time alone She taught me this poem, which, at 68, I still remember. She loved Longfellow. Thank you.

[@XxGOTARxX]

Your mother was very strong. A strength we do not see often these days.

[@nua.h2757]

Strong indeed

[@tenebrisrex333]

Aye, I too know and have loved the same ilk of women. My town was the mill capital of the world and the single women were hardened widows that loved much their children and suffered much more.

[@JusticeReigns]

She was a woman worthy of the deepest respect.

[@curtcaudle5900]

@@tenebrisrex333 a poet yourself 🥰 Beautiful ❤️🌹🌹🌹

[@amandalouw2295]

When a poem moves you to tears it becomes art

[@liusgonzales875]

You should read african poetry is both different and full of inspiration and wisdom. A different culture.

[@Sam-Wil]

It was probably art before that xd you just only recognized it after ;)

[@mallenjm252]

Beautifully said!

[@barbaracretty4961]

Ahhh yeas

[@corymofford6452]

I agree %100

[@GameOver-ou1ge]

God bless the ppl who are reading these poetrys and to RedFrost

[@thekingshelpers]

Gameover HD76 And to Whitesands for the music.

[@magaura1]

#Gameover HD76 Thank you

[@codyruchian]

Thank you! God bless you too!

[@Thisisntreal103]

God bless you too. :)

[@deanumk]

Be not like dumb driven cattle Be a hero in the strife.

[@Eris123451]

“Lie down on the floor and keep calm.” ― Robert Joseph Shea, The Eye in the Pyramid

[@anuradhainamdar8967]

Did this poem in M.A. course .

[@thetruth4654]

Majority of the worlds goverments, major corporations and interest groups like The World Economic Forum wants us too be nothing other then cattle, tracked and monitored throughout our entire lives. Refuse this and be free do not comply Civil Disobidence is a pre-requisite of freedom

[@renupathak4442]

I am in india and grew up with all these beautiful poems and poets. 72 yrs have passed and yet remember this beautiful poem which inspired us to want to leave foot prints on the sands of time.

[@shabaazs791]

Yes i remember we had to memorize it. I Always thought why we dont get some cool rhyming poems and absolutely didnt understand anything the poem said

[@utkt213]

@renu do you remember what book was it where all of these were compiled? I’m searching trying to find the name but couldn’t yet! Thanks!

[@aparnashekhar4959]

​@@utkt213 in icse 10 book it was there

[@utkt213]

@@aparnashekhar4959 thank you!

[@johnhaberstro8165]

I rolled through the comments with a tear in my eye... such words. Thank you fellow humans! Not one thumbs down!

[@GameLord2021]

👍👍

[@markmurphy8078]

😮😢😅😂❤

[@stephen9202]

"The Heights by Great Men reached and kept were not attained in sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night" - H. W. Longfellow

[@preciousamaechi5887]

That line touched me deeply!

[@regalpinguino]

"If more politicians knew poetry, and more poets knew politics, I am convinced the world would be a little better place in which to live."

[@arati.behera]

Only selected antisocials those who have criminal background r active in politics .

[@Baczkowa78]

Poems can’t be stored in bank accounts, I doubt it.

[@robertdore9592]

Clearly an idealist.

[@danielleking832]

I agree

[@mbaziiraeric3654]

Nice

[@1figfig]

To Despair is To turn away from Life. No greater work and pleasure than the fight to endure.

[@scottiestone2148]

My wife and I are separated right now and this channel has really helped me stay strong through it all. Some of these poems really put suffering into perspective for me. My wife initiated this separation and we have 3 young kids in the house that I am having to spend time away from. There has been no infidelity, abuse, or addiction issues. It's simply me not being the husband that I am capable of being. That's tough to deal with, but it isn't unique, and it isn't the worst thing that could happen. We're going to counseling and she is still hanging on to hope that we can make it through. I've been working on my end (as much as I can without being there) but I have a hard time managing my emotions when I don't see results, but the last line of this poem has really helped me to keep focus: "Learn to labor, and to wait."

[@tervenjames8305]

Be strong my brother

[@metalhero117]

I hope for nothing but the best. I will pray for your marriage tonight. I know this comment is 5 months old and a lot can happen in that time, but I will pray nonetheless for what may have been lost in that time may yet be regained. I will pray for you to find strength and to become the best man that you can be.

[@algospel2235]

Hope you dont mind me saying this, but it could be she is facing perimenopause or menopause. A lot of relationships break up st this time because women (I am female) can behave erratic due to hormonal changes. Some Women dont even recognize this when we are going through it. Please read up on it. Hormone replacement can help settle things down. Peace

[@pureblood8198]

72% of the time women initiate divorce. So statistically you're not to blame. She just thinks life is a Disney movie. I'm sorry for your kids tho.

[@markcrounse9919]

Imagine if this, as well as other thought provoking masterpieces, were dissected and discussed in all schools. Empowered, encouraged and enthusiastic graduates for sure.

[@askeletonsdaisy2440]

This poem kisses my soul.

[@mariec6124]

My papa loved this poem. He encouraged me to memorize it, but can only now recite the first stanza. But reading and hearing this again after soooo many years, I'm able to catch a glimpse of the kind of man my father was, whom I had forgotten. So thank you for doing this. You helped me honor my papa's memory.

[@ResilientGrind]

💪🤗👍Stay strong my fellow humans, the storms will pass and life will be sweeter than ever before!🌎

[@muskntesla3493]

Absolutely!!!

[@Gilbatini]

The hope you breathe inside my soul, great words ... Great words... Grind on

[@ResilientGrind]

Gilbert Earth 🙏🤗

[@MotesTV]

Search "The Future of Electricy SAFIRE" for more information on things getting better.

[@bobbob6152]

Resilient Grind I want the storm to stick around

[@jaiprakashagrawal3580]

I read this poem when i was 15.i am 65 today.still i remember the poem and the impact it had on me.🥰❤💯

[@stephenphillips7699]

Great words and stories need to be shared, tell this poem in your story to everyone.

[@davidstanley5553]

How many of us are the forlorn and shipwrecked brother about to take heart again?

[@4comment0nly76]

where are the foot prints on the sand? so faint they are, faint, faint...

[@woopwoop60]

@@4comment0nly76 not gone, yet

[@johnburt7935]

@@4comment0nly76 Keep looking.

[@emelle_1953]

we all are...at some point...at many points

[@breathing9127]

Yes

[@___Disha___]

Life is not only about happiness You have to face your fears , sorrows and disappointment but at one point of life you will feel like all of the struggles you had faced was worth it🖤

[@aracelymedina9930]

My mother's favorite poem. Makes her cry every time.

[@fredouswang1978]

I am recently submerged in beautiful but empty dreams of the future and sorrow of the valuable but fading past, being not able to focus on the present. Today I read this poem, and it gives me the power to not lose myself in illusions and retrospects but live in the present, strive to act, and have no regret. Thank you, and thank H. W. Longfellow.

[@kibetronoh2376]

Brilliant. Tom O'Bedlam's voice makes it much more profound

[@catherinejustcatherine1778]

Voice &/or music change so much

[@sandrawoanyah6268]

Absolutely!

[@venantiusjpinto]

"Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant! Let the dead Past bury its dead! Act,- act in the living Present! Heart within, and God o’erhead!" WOW!

[@Alex_MB]

One of the most beautiful poems i ever heard

[@joshuamoulton7708]

This was my mother's favorite poet may she be at peace where ever she is she died in 2013 an these poems have given me comfort when I miss her unbearably

[@zeevon9907]

The beauty that you see in others is a reflection of you and the ugliness that you in others is also a reflection of you.

[@MaRKeR2012]

wisdom

[@Eminentscholars]

I respect your words, as carry the mighty truth'.

[@silkyjay869]

Be 1 w/ thy shadow

[@rosefranco2319]

I see nothing but Ugliness in me so what does that mean?

[@zeevon9907]

@@rosefranco2319 You have been told bad things about you by those who are not happy themselves and you have believed them.

[@goncalonunodurao7656]

Mr Longfellow is , indeed, a great poet who can tell us, in my opinion , that better of Poetry 's form is its Message when "touch us well". Longfellow, also, said : "Music is the most Universal Language". I couldn't agree more because , I totally agree. Remarkable person, like a humanitarian Poet - Longfellow.

[@archagel1.170]

I have been listening to this almost every morning for the last 3 months

[@conservativeneurologyb4999]

(Acts.17:28) For in Him we live and move and have our being; As some of your poets have said, 'we too are His offspring'. amen. Thanks for posting this wonderful poem by American Mr. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

[@meerask4409]

It touched my heart. I feel sorry for the present generation ,they rarely come acrosssuch poems in this digital world.

[@catherinemartina6469]

There is a lack of enrichment for the upcoming generations. It's too late to teach them I think. I should have followed my first instinct, find a quiet place by the ocean, grow a garden, ditch the TV and keep the record player and all the instruments and books I could find. Let my children allow their imaginations to roam free. On the other hand, when I was young there were many people around us that played music, traditional music, but it was beautiful. The animals roamed freely, there were many birds and the smell of hay being made in the summer or the salt air from the ocean...magnificent. I miss it.

[@hitandruncommentor]

Well, that's why we have Redfrost here, librivox, and others. The words, wisdoms and inheritance of our forebearers is not gone, far from it. We just have to look. As for modern culture, well same for it too, there is no need to weep. Yes the main institutions of the arts have lost their way but the poets still dream, singers still hum, novelists still scribble and dancers still have the jive. It is not so dark as it seems, have heart the dawn is soon to come, and if it will not come, well then we merely have to go find it one step at a time.

[@janicestevenson6496]

"Learn to labor and to wait." Why are we here on earth anyway? Is it just to take what we can or to hide out in our own heads or to be a grain of sand just waiting for the tide to wash us away? Longfellow thought we had a commitment to the world that we should honor while we are here. "I am here to serve the world" is a step from the Continuation Training of Steps to Knowledge by Marshall Vian Summers. He states that "just the understanding that you are here to serve the world gives you a different set of criteria upon which to determine what is valuable in life and what is not." In other words, serve something greater than yourself, your happiness and your security. To serve something gives you a different vantage point from which to see all things around you and even within you. And maybe the things that seemed so important as well as the things that seemed so aggravating will concern you less when given their rightful place in your life of service.

[@toridoe9331]

Help correct the Latino problem. How can you help a lazy, dumb race become a service to the world?

[@murtadah6327]

Janice Stevenson: Thanks for the analysis and presenting your rich views here in a very effective manner.

[@NEMO-NEMO]

Tori Doe Pray.

[@NEMO-NEMO]

Janice Stevenson “Why are we hear on Earth?” Because it is to serve, but be weary whom you serve, for this fight is not between flesh and bone but it’s of those that want your mind. Be alert, your power lies with faith in Jesus Christ who knew from the very beginning that He would have to offer Himself as a blood atonement for our inability to completely love Him and His Laws. Thus providing a way for humans to have hope in having eternal life with Him. Pray for faith from our Lord and Savior and He will answer your prayer.

[@francoispellicaan8538]

Janice Stevenson: I found the book Steps to Knowledge by the same writer. Is this the book to start with? I found it free online...

[@heidehundley8337]

Art is timeless still relevant during our turbulent times.

[@pink_bundle_2399]

I memorize this poem and recited it in class (gradded recitation. every week new poems) at grade 8 but until to this day (3 years after college) I can still recall and recite it every morning.

[@alexandrebriere8050]

Thank you. You just reminded me of what it means to be alive.

[@osheengusain5254]

Just can't get enough of this sublime piece of art.❤️

[@stratospherestudios5374]

This poem hits me in a way no other poem can..

[@myspace8090]

One of the most powerful and evocative recitals that I have ever heard in my life. Each time I listen to this piece, it helps me acknowledge the fact that life is a stormy sea and we must sail through the violence of the natural elements until we reach our shores.

[@tiakalaao3863]

Sometimes , it is the voice that gives life and meaning to the words. This rendition is soul stirring. It really moved me.

[@stephenphillips7699]

Tom O'Bedlam, If tomorrow starts without me. Another great reading.

[@karensmith3565]

That was great, and brought me to tears.

[@kitrichardson5573]

It reminds me of another red frost inspirational video or a Chinese philosopher said “the only thing permanent is the rippling effect that we leave on others”

[@0otee]

Kit Richardson Name of the Chinese Philosopher please? 🌺

[@sandragrace6402]

"Lives of great men all remind us we can make our lives sublime" dang that hits home. Sometimes, I look at other people's lives and I think "they're meant to have great lives. I think I'm meant to have just this" but this is a great wake up call

[@fredjohnson5458]

Hello Sandra 😊

[@Shanvind2302]

"Not enjoyment, Not sorrow, is our destined end or way, But to act, that each tomorrow, find us farther than today. " I will try to listen to this everyday. Thank You.

[@lottiehenry8364]

So powerful and beautiful at the same time; I really enjoy poetry- the depths, the power of words, the meaning, it can pierce your soul and heal it at the same time.

[@alphadogmindset5958]

YES!!! LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST!!! You guys got this...always progressing towards a full life🔥🔥🤘🤘

[@paulleonardo4042]

This is more than mere poetry, it is a work of art, a work of greatness, something to be cherished., admired and passed on to other generations....

[@JCMoral-wc4fm]

I still remember this poem which we were compelled to learn by heart i think in my fourth grade. Now I am glad for it what a beautiful message brought out about the realities of life

[@rosealonsdale8950]

Very appropriate for our times.

[@Spacejunk57]

What a profound mind, words to live by today.

[@queenshi2075]

The music and the power of his voice match so well!

[@canoslo6126]

I am amazed at how many quotes I knew from this piece never knowing they were all from the same poem! Wonderful voice of the reader, too. Perfection.

[@johnburns2510]

Very Inspiring BLESSINGS TO ALL WORTHY OF BEING BLESSED

[@jonathanandersonartist]

Such power and majesty. It's a grand message directly to the soul.

[@arpitachakraborty5261]

Tom o'bedlam ,Sir you are blessed with a soulful voice.every word moves the heart.

[@ruchiphool8932]

God bless the creators of this poetries, this channel and those who narrated with much passion as if they had and we're living each word of it. Thank you so much

[@GameLord2021]

👍

[@HarjitSingh-fe5nm]

A beautiful poem, which reminds of school days & the teacher who taught us. It inspires us to realize the purpose of life & do something for the society.

[@ilsewatson2284]

I discovered this channel today. It is amazingly powerful and beautiful. Don't stop!

[@RajdeepDhareed]

One of my most favourite poems of all time.....really sublime and serene.....most inspiring !!!

[@margaretohara7250]

So beautiful- so uplifting.

[@hullabaloo7974]

Goosebumps and a vision!♥️

[@Oggmiestergeneral]

Words from a wise soul, beautiful.

[@TheCanuk100]

Poetry like this always grounds me and remind me that there are like minded humans after all...Thank God for poets.

[@gilliansmith827]

Wonderful I love Longfellow I know poems well he was always an amazing poet. Thank you spirit. Ahhh and be happy

[@loknathbattula9482]

Learn to labour and to wait. Loved this concluding line.

[@valdirbergamobergamo5396]

As I always tell, this is divine poetry. The Man Who reads It is really living this wondrous poetry 💯👌

[@jesusisking3974]

Listen to Longfellow's poem which became a song.....I heard the Bells on Christmas Day. Beautiful 🙏

[@nilighosh158]

Profoundly inspirational. Words of wisdom. Thank you.

[@lilybarth4272]

Thanks awfully for this beautiful poem ant the wonderful voice of the man who read it.

[@adityasurve8106]

What a powerful life, very strong phrases, powerfully recited, inspiring, marvellous music score. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@johnpaulsecond4626]

That's a very precious gift to read ANOTHER'S heart as if you wrote it.

[@jaymcd8577]

The Heights of Great Men Reached and kept were not attained in sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night

[@monika1234ify]

Beautifully read and arranged. I have put verses 1-3 to melody and piano and am getting ready to render the remaining verses. The beauty of this poem lies in the way that it builds and expands outward into the sands of time as it nears completion. It begins with the reality of mortality and our finiteness then opens up into the vastness of existence and our connection with each other. I have been inspired and brought out of darkness so many times by the words of our ancestors, and am so grateful to count Longfellow as one of those voices. My hope is that my arrangement of this lyrical piece can also inspire some future shipwrecked brother or sister. Good stuff.

[@dennisbennett7812]

Beautiful! Inspiring! Uplifting message!

[@mindybroffmantakara8287]

Lovely, meaningful, soulful and inspirational ✌️🙏

[@catherinephilip2073]

Amazing message. Loaded with motivation for our every day life.

[@janvaljan5435]

Sublime indeed, the world is a better place because of such people such powerful works

[@jpgabriele9596]

I heard about this beautiful poem before from my Dad . He loves poems so much

[@hannahjones8992]

Wonderful words, beautifully read, a perfect choice the the times we're living in🙏Know it well, but a great reminder and lovely to hear again. Thank you for posting🙏💖💖

[@santanugmail]

This is such a welcome discovery... One of my father's favourite lines.... I did not know as a child where they r from. Later years ago I googled them up. And now I bump into this!

[@weslynkris5059]

I needed this today. One of my new favorites.

[@keliusher-holmes2165]

That's a great poem. One of the greatest.

[@alifewithpoetry]

Incredibly beautiful- it touched my soul. 🖤

[@chintanchawda9725]

Please make alike version of Rabindranath Tagore's poem, "Where mind is without fear and head is held high".

[@dbiswas]

That's a great ask. I just heard the poem and it's so inspiring. Thank you.

[@teen21]

yes please, they need to..it's so inspiring.

[@sweetefelicity]

This poem should be mandatory for memorization!

[@eniaronoslen8659]

Absolutely beautiful!!

[@denisehill1705]

Beautiful! Thanks for bringing it to life!

[@loriwakefield1]

I love this poem thank you

[@niranjanrout5440]

This pome not only a composition, rather a power booster which touches the heart and opens the mind. A psalm of life.

[@annprince5298]

That was prophetic poem, they were warning us then , powerful and so apropos!!

[@thekingshelpers]

Thank you for posting this poem. I’m going to dig deeper into Longfellow.

[@constantinofarach3035]

Soul shaking poetry indeed

[@nickgoodwood4812]

Beautiful, I needed that. Thanks for posting. God bless you all.

[@gavg89iiuktvii35]

Thankyou for your Time And Energy God Bless You 💎

[@ChamberofDreamsBD]

Such a beautiful piece of art

[@irisgsantos]

Thank you so much for such loving ❤ words 💖 ❤

[@malissahyatt2425]

I just found this treasure. I am in love!!!!

[@bebotmaxphilippines.5656]

Thank you very much for sharing, greatly appreciated.

[@MrDUCKMAN5555]

Am listening to this on repeat to so I remember every word

[@Shadowknightneo]

This is the reader from the "Spoken Word" channel! I haven't heard his poems or voice for ages!

[@bigchungus1920]

His footprints have helped me take heart again

[@theseedoflife3057]

Great poem!

[@marcanthony3167]

This made me cry!