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Home  »  Poems of Places An Anthology in 31 Volumes  »  In the Cathedral of Cologne

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Germany: Vols. XVII–XVIII. 1876–79.

Cologne

In the Cathedral of Cologne

By William Wordsworth (1770–1850)

O FOR the help of angels to complete

This temple,—angels governed by a plan

Thus far pursued (how gloriously!) by man,

Studious that he might not disdain the seat

Who dwells in heaven! But that aspiring heat

Hath failed; and now, ye powers! whose gorgeous wings

And splendid aspect yon emblazonings

But faintly picture, ’t were an office meet

For you, on these unfinished shafts to try

The midnight virtues of your harmony:—

This vast design might tempt you to repeat

Strains that call forth upon empyreal ground

Immortal fabrics, rising to the sound

Of penetrating harps and voices sweet!