O Faithful, Indefatigable Tides
Beneath a wooden bridge, a speaker watches tides come and go, addressing them as tireless messengers carrying tidings between land and sea on God's errands. The tides are portrayed as patient workers who fill waterways with delight, continually renew their task, and fret only at obstructing rocks.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Nature Poetry, Lyric Poetry · 167 words
First lines
August 18, 1847.
O faithful, indefatigable tides, / That evermore upon God's errands go, -- / Now seaward bearing tidings of the land, -- / Now landward bearing tidings of the sea, -- / And filling every frith and estuary, / Each arm of the great sea, each little creek, / Each thread and filament of water-courses, / Full with your ministration of delight! / Under the rafters of this wooden bridge / I see you come and go; sometimes in haste / To reach your journey's end, which being done / With feet unrested ye return again / And recommence the never-ending task; / Patient, whatever burdens ye may bear, / And fretted only by the impeding rocks.
Genres
- Nature Poetry — The verse follows tides moving between sea and land, filling estuaries, creeks, and watercourses.
- Lyric Poetry — A speaker directly addresses the tides while watching their movement beneath a wooden bridge.
Tags
tides · coastal waterways · wooden bridge · divine service · personification
What this Textopian page supports
O Faithful, Indefatigable Tides is listed on Textopian as a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, dated Date unknown.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Nature Poetry, Lyric Poetry
- Length: 167 words
- Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Difficult (College Level)
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