Memoirs of Anne C. L. Botta/To the unknown builder of the Cathedral of Cologne

by Anne Lynch Botta

          Unknown great Master! whose creative thought
             Is here inscribed, though from Fame's shining scroll
          Thy name is lost, this wondrous dome is fraught
             With the expression of thy reverent soul.
          Immortal, in each curve and line inwrought;
             As in the vast, harmonious, perfect whole:
          We see buttress, tower, and pinnacle that reach
             In forests of great columns, towering high,
          With deep grooved arches interlacing each,
             Lift their bold outlines dark against the sky.
          It rises like a vision in mid-air, indeed
             A temple meet for a divine abode;
          The embodied symbol of man's highest creed;
             A symphony in stone; a thought of God.