Poetry Catalog

Rabbi Ben Levi, on the Sabbath, readA volume of the Law, in which it said,"No man shall look upon my face and live."And as he read, he prayed that God would giveHis faithful servant grace with mortal eyeTo look upon His face and yet not die. Then fell a sudden shadow on the page,And, lifting up his eyes, grown dim with ageHe saw the Angel of Death before him stand,Holding a … [Read more...] about The Legend of Rabbi Ben Levi, By: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

O little feet! that such long yearsMust wander on through hopes and fears,Must ache and bleed beneath your load;I, nearer to the wayside innWhere toil shall cease and rest begin,Am weary, thinking of your road! O little hands! that, weak or strong,Have still to serve or rule so long,Have still so long to give or ask;I, who so much with book and penHave toiled among my … [Read more...] about Weariness, By: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Labor with what zeal we will,Something still remains undone,Something uncompleted stillWaits the rising of the sun. By the bedside, on the stair,At the threshold, near the gates,With its menace or its prayer,Like a mendicant it waits; Waits, and will not go away;Waits, and will not be gainsaid;By the cares of yesterdayEach to-day is heavier made; Till at length the … [Read more...] about Something Left Undone, By: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

O gift of God! O perfect day:Whereon shall no man work, but play;Whereon it is enough for me,Not to be doing, but to be! Through every fibre of my brain,Through every nerve, through every vein,I feel the electric thrill, the touchOf life, that seems almost too much. I hear the wind among the treesPlaying celestial symphonies;I see the branches downward bent,Like keys of … [Read more...] about A Day of Sunshine, By: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Under Mount Etna he lies,It is slumber, it is not death;For he struggles at times to arise,And above him the lurid skiesAre hot with his fiery breath. The crags are piled on his breast,The earth is heaped on his head;But the groans of his wild unrest,Though smothered and half suppressed,Are heard, and he is not dead. And the nations far awayAre watching with eager … [Read more...] about Enceladus, By: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow