II.

They knelt in silent anguish by her bed,

And could not weep; but calmly there she lay.

All pain had left her; and the sun's last ray

Shone through upon her, warming into red

The shady curtains. In her heart she said:

“Heaven opens; I leave these and go away:

The Bridegroom calls,— shall the Bride seek to stay?”

Then low upon her breast she bowed her head.

O lily-flower, O gem of priceless worth,

O dove with patient voice and patient eyes,

O fruitful vine amid a land of dearth,

O maid replete with loving purities,

Thou bowedst down thy head with friends on earth

To raise it with the saints in Paradise.