O Lord! who seest from yon starry height,
Centred in one the future and the past,
Fashioned in thine own image, see how fast
The world obscures in me what once was bright!
Eternal sun! the warmth which thou hast given.
To cheer life's flowery April, fast decays;
Yet in the hoary winter of my days,
Forever green shall be my trust In heaven.
Celestial King! oh, let thy presence pass
Before my spirit, and an image fair
Shall meet that look of mercy from on high,
As the reflected image in a glass
Doth meet the look of him who seeks it there.
And owes its being to the gazer's eye.
Francisco de Aldana (1537 - 1578) Italy
Translated by Henry W. Longfellow
Source: World's great religious poetry, Caroline Miles Hill, Macmillan company, 1923
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