Where Eternal Prayer is Living

In the Gothic "Duomo" of Milan
by Ruby Archer

Come, chastened light, thou spirit of the sun!
Come, wander where eternal prayer is living;
Come, with a glow from saintly garments won,
Wake the dark walls unto thy wealth of giving.

Glide with thy vivid foot along the aisles,
And touch the fretted marble with thy fingers.
Mingle with tapers borne by priestly files,
Caress the fragrant incense where it lingers.

But leave the dim confessional in gloom,—
Peer not to learn a secret faltered lowly.
Kneel now, and mourn before a chaliced tomb,
Revere the dignity of marble holy.

Lo! 'Tis the Virgin and the Jesus child,
And at their feet some hand hath offered flowers—
Roses and pansies—pure, devout, and mild
As that loved face that blesseth all the hours.

Go, chastened light, thy wings are free again.
Go, meet the sun beyond the sacred portal.
Proclaim that thou hast been in fane of men
And found it worthy of the gods immortal!