 | The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere |  |
SAINT LUCY.
(DIED A.D. 304.)
I
‘O Light divine, those outward eyesThat languish, nothing seeing
Save thine inferior suns and skies,
Blot wholly from my being;
But grant me one short hour to see
What Anna saw, and Stephen—
The Babe upon His Mother's knee;
The Saviour crowned in Heaven.
II
‘O heavenly, uncreated Word,That took'st our mortal nature,
And, still on high as God adored,
Didst die on earth, a Creature;
153
Each act, word, thought, betrays Thee:
But Thy good Martyrs in the sky
And where they suffered, praise Thee!’
III
Thus sang Saint Lucy, bright like day,Where others hoped not, hoping;
To thy worn tomb, O Agatha,
A mother's footsteps propping.
She knelt and prayed the Martyr's aid—
‘My mother! help her, shield her!’
‘Why ask my aid?’ the Martyr Maid
Replied; ‘Thy prayers have healed her.’
IV
She rose: her country's gods defied;Idol and altar spurning:
To death adjudged, with tenderest pride
Her cheek, late pale, was burning:—
A thousand men their strength put forth:
Nor man nor beast might move her!
The hand that made the heavens and earth
Lay strong that hour above her.
V
Round her they piled the wood: the firesForth flashed, and fiercely mounted;
She, like a bird 'mid golden wires,
The praise of God recounted.
‘The Empire falls: the Church is free!’
So rang her song, and ended
‘O Agatha! for Sicily
Henceforth our prayers are blended.’
154
VI
Sicilian sisters fair and braveIn bonds of God close-plighted,
That, like two lilies on one wave,
Float, evermore united;
Upheaved upon the Church's breast
In aspiration endless
Plead from the bosom of your rest
For exiled souls and friendless!
| The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere | |