II. Unacknowledged and Uncollected Translations. The Assumption of the Virgin

By Luis Ponce de Leon

LADY! thine upward flight

The opening heavens receive with joyful song:

Blest, who thy garments bright

May seize, amid the throng,

And to the sacred mount float peacefully along.

Bright angels are around thee,

They that have served thee from thy birth are there:

Their hands with stars have crowned thee;

Thou,—peerless Queen of air,

As sandals to thy feet the silver moon dost wear.

Celestial dove! so meek

And mild and fair!—oh, let thy peaceful eye

This thorny valley seek,

Where such sweet blossoms lie,

But where the sons of Eve in pain and sorrow sigh.

For if the imprisoned soul

Could catch the brightness of that heavenly way,

’T would own its sweet control

And gently pass away,

Drawn by its magnet power to an eternal day.