"My Beloved is mine, and I am His; He feedeth among the lilies." -- Cant. ii.16.

Mechthild of Hellfde, 1277.

tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899

Thou hast shone within this soul of mine,

As the sun on a shrine of gold;

When I rest my heart, O Lord, on Thine,

My bliss is manifold.

My soul is the gem on Thy diadem,

And my marriage robe Thou art;

If aught could sever my heart from Thine,

The sorrow beyond all sorrows were mine,

Alone and apart.

Could I not find Thy love below,

Then would my soul as a pilgrim go

To Thy holy land above;

There would I love Thee as I were fain

With everlasting love.

Now have I sung my tuneless song,

But I hearken, Lord, for Thine;

So shall a music, sweet and strong,

Pass into mine.

"I am the Light, and the lamp thou art;

The River, and thou the thirsty land;

To thee thy sighs have drawn My heart,

And ever beneath thee is My Hand.

And when thou weepest it needs must be

Within Mine arms that encompass thee;

Thy heart from Mine can none divide,

For one are the Bridegroom and the Bride;

It is sweet, beloved, for Me and thee

To wait for the Day that is to be."

O Lord, with hunger and thirst I wait,

With longing before Thy golden gate,

Till the Day shall dawn

When from Thy lips divine have passed

The sacred words that none may hear

But the soul that, loosed from the earth at last,

Hath laid her ear

To the mouth that speaks in the still sweet morn

Apart and alone --

Then shall the secret of love be told

The mystery known.