A Day Of Sunshine

A Day Of Sunshine

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

O gift of God! O perfect day:
Whereon(weˈrän) shall no man work, but play;
Whereon it is enough for me,
Not to be doing, but to be!

Through every fibre(ˈfībər) of my brain(brān),
Through every nerve(nərv), through every vein(vān),
I feel the electric(əˈlektrik) thrill(THril), the touch
Of life, that seems almost too much.

I hear the wind among the trees
Playing celestial(səˈlesCHəl) symphonies(ˈsimfənē);
I see the branches downward bent,
Like keys of some great instrument.

And over me unrolls(ˌənˈrōl) on high
The splendid(ˈsplendəd) scenery(ˈsēn(ə)rē) of the sky,
Where though a sapphire(ˈsaˌfī(ə)r) sea the sun
Sails(sāl) like a golden galleon(ˈɡalēən),

Towards yonder(ˈyändər) cloud-land in the West,
Towards yonder Islands of the Blest,
Whose steep(stēp) sierra(sēˈerə) far uplifts
Its craggy(ˈkraɡē) summits(ˈsəmət) white with drifts.

Blow, winds! and waft(wäft) through all the rooms
The snow-flakes(flāk) of the cherry-blooms!
Blow, winds! and bend within my reach
The fiery(ˈfī(ə)rē) blossoms(ˈbläsəm) of the peach!

O Life and Love! O happy throng(THrôNG)
Of thoughts, whose only speech is song!
O heart of man! canst(kanst) thou(T͟Hou) not be
Blithe(blīT͟H) as the air is, and as free?

https://americanliterature.com/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/poem/a-day-of-sunshine