The Image of God by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The speaker laments that the world obscures God's image within him and that the warmth God gave him fades with age, while affirming lasting trust in Heaven. He asks for God's merciful presence, comparing the image it would bring forth in his spirit to a reflection that owes its existence to the gazer's eye.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Sonnet, Devotional Poetry · 198 words
First lines
(La Imagen de Dios)
By Francisco de Aldana
O Lord! who seest, from yon starry height, / Centred in one the future and the past, / Fashioned in thine own image, see how fast / The world obscures in me what once was bright! / Eternal Sun! the warmth which thou hast given, / To cheer life's flowery April, fast decays; / Yet in the hoary winter of my days, / Forever green shall be my trust in Heaven. / Celestial King! O let thy presence pass / Before my spirit, and an image fair / Shall meet that look of mercy from on high, / As the reflected image in a glass / Doth meet the look of him who seeks it there, / And owes its being to the gazer's eye.
What this Textopian page supports
The Image of God 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: Sonnet, Devotional Poetry
- Length: 198 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Image of God by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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Genres
- Sonnet — Fourteen rhymed lines move from lament over spiritual dimming and age to a plea for God's presence, ending with a comparison to a mirror's reflection.
- Devotional Poetry — The speaker directly addresses God, affirms enduring trust in Heaven, and asks for a merciful encounter that would reveal God's image in his spirit.
Tags
prayer · divine image · aging · faith · mercy