The Village Blacksmith             Recite: 1017/25

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

Under a spreading chestnut-tree

The village smithy stands;

The smith, a mighty man is he,

With large and sinewy hands;

And the muscles of his brawny arms

Are strong as iron bands. 

 

His hair is crisp, and black, and long,

His face is like the tan;

His brow is wet with honest sweat,

He earns whate'er he can,

And looks the whole world in the face,

For he owes not any man. 

 

Week in, week out, from morn till night,

You can hear his bellows blow;

You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,

With measured beat and slow,

Like a sexton ringing the village bell,

When the evening sun is low. 

 

And children coming home from school

Look in at the open door;

They love to see the flaming forge,

And hear the bellows roar,

And catch the burning sparks that fly

Like chaff from a threshing-floor. 

 

Toiling,--rejoicing,--sorrowing,

Onward through life he goes;

Each morning sees some task begin,

Each evening sees it close

Something attempted, something done,

Has earned a night's repose. 

 

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,

For the lesson thou hast taught!

Thus at the flaming forge of life

Our fortunes must be wrought;

Thus on its sounding anvil shaped

Each burning deed and thought.

 

Vocabulary 

smith (n): a person who works in metals

mighty (adj): strong and powerful

sinewy (adj): having strong muscles

brawny (adj): muscular, thick and strong

sexton (n): a person who looks after a church and churchyard, sometimes acting as bell-ringer 

forge (v): make or shape metal by heating it in a fire

bellows (n): tool used to fan a fire

chaff (n): the covering of the wheat plant

threshing (v): separate grain from a plant

toiling (v): working very hard

repose (n): rest or sleep

wrought (v): to shape by hammering with tools

anvil (n): heavy iron or steel block with a smooth flat top