The flashes come and go;
All heaven bursts her starry floors,
And strows her lights below,
And deepens on and up! the gates
Roll back, and far within
For me the Heavenly Bridegroom waits,
To make me pure of sin.
The sabbaths of Eternity,
One sabbath deep and wide--
A light upon the shining sea--
The bridegroom with his bride!
--from Alfred, Lord Tennyson's Saint Agnes' Eve
Saint Agnes, pray for us.
beautiful poem. I think the pope blesses lambs today, their wool will be woven to make palliums. God bless all!
ReplyDeleteThis makes me think of the color white. And gold. And then that leads to purity, and heaven, and light...Not the sort of poem one forgets easily.
ReplyDeleteTotally gorgeous stained glass window of St. Agnes. Thanks for the Tennyson, too. I've always loved his poetry.
ReplyDeleteYes, Robert, you are correct about Saint Agnes' feast day and the pallium. There is an order of nuns in Italy who care for "Saint Agnes' lambs" from which the wool is taken. Such a beautiful tradition! Thank you, dear Oddyoddy013, for your lovely comments on the picture and the poem. And thank you very much, Barbara, for your very kind comments. I, too, have always loved Tennyson; I'll post some more of his poems in the near future. May God bless you all.
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