A HOME SONG

by: Henry Van Dyke
Submitted: Friday, January 03, 2003

I read within a poet's book 

A word that starred the page:
"Stone walls do not a prison make, 
Nor iron bars a cage!" 

Yes, that is true; and something more
You'll find, where'er you roam,
That marble floors and gilded walls
Can never make a home. 

But every house where Love abides,
And Friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home-sweet-home:
For there the heart can rest. 

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-home-song/

   I chose “A Home Song” by Henry Van Dyke because I liked the simplicity of it. Many more lines and words could have been used to say the same thing to get the point across but Henry Van Dyke apparently thought less was more. In this poem it works. The central theme explains that a house does not make a home. This theme is shared throughout my poetry anthology.  “Marble floors and gilded walls can never make a home.” These items can create a fine house but a home needs love and friendship. "Stone walls do not a prison make, nor does iron bar a cage!" Just because the components are there does not mean the job is done. It takes more.

   The poet uses the descriptive imagery of stone walls, iron bars, marble floors and gilded walls to paint a fine picture to help the reader see his point of view. Stone walls and iron bars bring cold elements of a prison to our minds but you need more than that. Where are the guards, prisoners, chains and weapons? Likewise, marble floors and gilded walls bring to mind an expensively built house that has spared no expense to create a fine house. I think the marble floors bring to mind a coldness and a hardness. The gilded walls also bring to mind a golden, chilly aloofness that would be fine for a house but not for the warmth of a home.  The images of love abiding, friendship being a guest and the heart resting making a home come together to create warm feeling inside. The tone is a happy endearing one.

   Just like the saying, “You can’t judge a book by its cover”, you cannot judge a home by its house. Things are not always as they appear to be. The images of love abiding, friendship being a guest and the heart resting make the vision of a home come together to create warm feeling inside. The tone is a happy endearing one.