"The Sermon of St. Francis" is a poem by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882).
The poem relates the story of Francis of Assisi, who tries to teach a flock of birds about the wonders of God.
It was included in an anthology he edited titled Poems of Places in 1877 and also republished after his death in Through Italy with the Poets in 1908.
[1] According to scholar William Charvat, the poem is like many of Longfellow's later writings in that it touches upon the poet's struggle with fame.
Like the birds in the poem, he questions if his readers will understand his message.