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INTRODUCTORY NOTE.—This dance is derived from a ceremony, observed among the Native Americans of the North Pacific Coast, in which the spirits dwelling beneath the ground are called to come and join those who are dancing. The dancer who calls the spirits moves with gliding steps, the arms outstretched, the hands beckoning upward in a gentle, enticing manner. The grace, dignity and earnestness of this dance linger with the writer as a beautiful memory after the lapse of many years. Songs CALL TO THE FLOWERS Hither come, come to me, flowers! Wake from your sleep. Oh, hither come, hither come, flowers! Hear me calling, Wake from your sleep, O flowers! Hark! some one comes.
The Arrow and the Song • by Henry W. Longfellow • I shot an arrow into the air; • It Fell to earth, I knew not where; • For, so swiftly it flew, the sight • Could not follow it in its flight. • I breathed a Song into the air; • It fell to earth, I knew not where; • For who has sight so keen and strong • That it can follow the flight of Song? • Long, long afterwards, in an oak • I found the arrow, still unbroke; • And the song, from beginning to end, • I found again in the heart of a friend. Poems
Notes and Questions • Longfellow is the poet who has spoken most sincerely and sympathetically to the hearts of the common people and to children. His style is notable for its simplicity and grace. His Hiawatha is a national poem that records the picturesque traditions of the American Indian. Its charm and melody are the delight of all children, and in years to come, when the race which it describes has utterly disappeared, we shall value at even higher worth these stories of the romantic past of America and of the brave people who inhabited these mountains and plains before the white man came. • Discussion: • 1.What became of the arrow? Of the song? • 2.Where was the arrow found? When? • 3.Where was the Song found? • 4.Point out lines that rhyme. • 5.What is Longfellow's purpose in this poem? • 6.Why is the poet's song compared to the flight of an arrow? • 7.A poet once said, "Let me make the Songs of a nation, and I care not who makes the laws." What did he mean? • 8.What was the Song doing "in the heart of a • friend"?
