Sonnets and Other Poems Chiefly Religious by Joseph John Murphy |
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ON THE COMPLETION OF COLOGNE
CATHEDRAL.
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ON THE COMPLETION OF COLOGNE CATHEDRAL.
No need for “help of angels to completeThis temple!” it was better far that man,
While centuries passed, should gaze upon its plan
Unfinished and abandoned;—then 'twas meet
The German nation, in the “aspiring heat”
Of its returning life, the work should end;
That from the finished Minster might ascend
The prayer of human faith, with praises sweet.
It stands no longer like a broken vow;
The spires are crowned, the sculpture perfect now,
Keeping the mighty promise of the past.
Oh may this glorious Church a symbol stand
Of German loyalty to fatherland,
And faith in God, while earthly ages last!
| Sonnets and Other Poems Chiefly Religious | |