University of Virginia Library

II.

So, when the joy for which I long had prayed,
Was granted, and Love's gates stood open wide,
With shining angels thronging either side,
I held a little back, with feet afraid
To dare the shining land before me spread;
Though I had seen the faces glorified,
Heard Love's own song of joy, felt all the pride
To know his very hands had crowned my head.
While thus I stood, my lady came, and said,
“Come, now, and worship at Love's inmost shrine;”
She spake with a compulsion so divine
That straightway I arose, and followèd.
Now Love's continuous lights about us shine,
And by our voices is Love's anthem led.