Nature

My Cathedral

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807–1882

Nature

Like two cathedral towers these stately pines
Uplift their fretted summits tipped with cones;
The arch beneath them is not built with stones,
Not Art but Nature traced these lovely lines,
And carved this graceful arabesque of vines;
No organ but the wind here sighs and moans,
No sepulchre conceals a martyr's bones.
No marble bishop on his tomb reclines.
Enter! the pavement, carpeted with leaves,
Gives back a softened echo to thy tread!
Listen! the choir is singing; all the birds,
In leafy galleries beneath the eaves,
Are singing! listen, ere the sound be fled,
And learn there may be worship with out words.

MLA

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. “My Cathedral.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/longfellow/188/.

Chicago

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. “My Cathedral.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/longfellow/188/.

Read this poem with the Codex →

More by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow