"The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls" by Harry Wadworth Longfellow

The tide rises, the tide falls,

The twilight darkens, the curlew calls,

Along the sea sands, damp and brown,

The traveller hastens towards the town,

And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Darkness settles on roofs and walls,

But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls,

But little waves, with their soft, white hands,

Efface the footprints in the sands,

And the tide rises, the tide falls.

The morning breaks, the steeds in their stalls

Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls,

The day returns, but nevermore,

Returns the traveller to the shore,

And the tide rises, the tide falls

The most important message is man versus nature. In this case, man is the loser. The tide represents nature and the footprints in the sand represent mankind. The tide eventually erases all the footprints, showing that nature will always win and nothing man does is eternal. The tide will continue rising and falling while the man is forgotten.

Another theme is about our actions. The traveller is sure that getting to the town is worth more than the tide or nature. His deed is worth more than all of these to him, but the tide and nature wash him away easily, just as time can wash away our individual actions and render them null and void.

A third interpretation is that no matter what happened yesterday, today is a new day, and whatever is in the past remains there. The poet is trying to express that we must concentrate on the present, not the past or the future.

This poem left a deep impression on me because it struck me how true this poem is. No matter how great you are, in a couple thousand years, people do not even remember your name. Its as if you never even existed. It also showed how puny mankind is in the face of nature. Our lives, aspirations could be stripped away in an instant.

However, the poem also inspired me to not procrastinate. We should seize the day, because as the saying goes, "live for today for tomorrow never comes". We never know what will happen in the future, and so you should give your all into everything you do.

Even though you will eventually be forgotten, I feel that you should not be discouraged, whether you are rich or poor, young or old, I think that what matters is the present, and whether you have a small or large impact, what matters is that you try.

I really enjoyed this poem because i felt that it ran a lot deeper than most poems I have read and it was more relatable to me than most other types of poems (war poems, love poems etc). I would recommend others to read it and it is definitely one of my favorite poems.