Before a Madonna — by Botticelli.

Thine is the face our driven souls shall wear,

O sweet serenity!— No earthly wind

Can rend thine azure mantle now, nor tear

Those veils that shield the radiant locks they bind.

Thy brow is calm with storm appeased; thy lids

Are heavy with the wisdom of all tears:

Thy mouth is strong with silence that forbids

Weary lament and craven wail of fears.

Within thy guarded bosom now no fire

Is ardent; thou hast hidden all thy scars:

We too may tread the ashes of desire,

And wing our spirits thus to touch the stars.