Old St. David's at Radnor
A speaker describes a little church among graves, its climbing ivy and its plain, aging interior, and locates its worth in faith and love rather than size. Imagining himself as a pilgrim or pastor, he would choose to remain there, sheltered from the world's turmoil.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Meditative Poetry, Religious Poetry · 379 words
First lines
What an image of peace and rest / Is this little church among its graves! / All is so quiet; the troubled breast, / The wounded spirit, the heart oppressed, / Here may find the repose it craves.
See, how the ivy climbs and expands / Over this humble hermitage, / And seems to caress with its little hands / The rough, gray stones, as a child that stands / Caressing the wrinkled cheeks of age!
Genres
- Meditative Poetry — The speaker moves from observing the church to considering its spiritual worth and imagining an anchored soul beyond worldly turmoil.
- Religious Poetry — The church prompts reflections on faith overcoming doubt, love overcoming hate, and the peace a pilgrim or pastor might find there.
Tags
churches · spiritual refuge · faith · peace · ivy
What this Textopian page supports
Old St. David's at Radnor is listed on Textopian as a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Meditative Poetry, Religious Poetry
- Length: 379 words
- Structure: 1 section, 7 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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- Work identity for Old St. David's at Radnor by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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