Poems (Hornblower)/Sonnet, to the Supreme Being (translated from Michael Angelo)
SONNETTO THE SUPREME BEING.(Translated from Michael Angelo.)
Father! oh, sweet indeed will be my prayers, If thou wilt lend me virtue for thy shrine; For this infertile, earthly soil of mineCan yield no fruit but what thy hand prepares.Thou sowest the seed to spring to holy deeds, Which in the heart first germinates and grows; The lovely paths of goodness no one knowsUntil thou shew'st them, and thy Spirit leads.Oh, Thou, into my mind the thoughts infuse That may produce in me intense desire Thy sacred light to follow, and such fire,That fervent lips may praise thee, and my museBe consecrate, and ever free to raisePure hymns and incense to thy holy praise!