I believe that John Keats' "Ode to a Nightingale" is the greatest piece of prose or poetry that I've ever read.
I am also a big fan of Wordsworth, Tennyson and Yeats, who are undisputed masters of the craft, but Keats' ode becomes more powerful, beautiful and meaningful each time I read it.
You would get along well with my father; he has identical views about these poets. 10 years ago when I was a believer, I used to like these lines from Tennyson:
More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice
Rise like a fountain for me night and day.
For what are men better than sheep or goats
That nourish a blind life within the brain,
If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer
Both for themselves and those who call them friend?
