Consumed in Grace
by Catherine of SienaEnglish version by Daniel Ladinsky
I first saw God when I was a child, six years of age.
The cheeks of the sun were pale before Him,
and the earth acted as a shy
girl, like me.
Divine light entered my heart from His love
that did never fully wane,
though indeed, dear, I can understand how a person's
faith can at times flicker,
for what is the mind to do
with something that becomes the mind's ruin:
a God that consumes us
in His grace.
I have seen what you want;
it is there,
a Beloved of infinite
tenderness.
-- from Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West, Translated by Daniel Ladinsky |
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