Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Asia: Vols. XXI–XXIII. 1876–79.
Mary Magdalen
By Bartolomé Leonardo de Argensola (15621631)B
The crowd are pointing at the thing forlorn,
In wonder and in scorn!
Thou weepest days of innocence departed;
Thou weepest, and thy tears have power to move
The Lord to pity and love.
Even for the least of all the tears that shine
On that pale cheek of thine.
Thou didst kneel down, to Him who came from heaven,
Evil and ignorant, and thou shalt rise
Holy and pure and wise.
The ragged brier should change, the bitter fir
Distil Arabian myrrh!
Nor that, upon the wintry desert’s bosom
The harvest should rise plenteous, and the swain
Bear home the abundant grain.
Thick to their tops with roses; come and see
Leaves on the dry dead tree:
The perished plant, set out by living fountains,
Grows fruitful, and its beauteous branches rise,
Forever, towards the skies.