Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Germany: Vols. XVII–XVIII. 1876–79.

Cologne

Saint Christopher

By Nathaniel Langdon Frothingham (1793–1870)

In the Cathedral

AH, my strong saint, who wouldst not deign to serve

Aught but the strongest! I behold thee there,

With thy broad shoulders and thy giant form,

Thou hadst no wit nor knowledge; couldst not learn

What the priests bade thee,—couldst not bend thy knee

To their long prayers or tedious penances.

Thou gavest what thou hadst, thy manly strength,

To the sweet service of humanity.

So thou didst bear the Christ upon thy back,

And minister unto the Lord of Glory.