FROM THE SPANISH OF LUIS PONCE DE LEON.
Region of life and light!
Land of the good whose earthly toils are o'er!
Nor frost nor heat may blight
Thy vernal beauty, fertile shore,
Yielding thy blessed fruits for evermore!
There without crook or sling,
Walks the good shepherd; blossoms white and red
Round his meek temples cling;
And to sweet pastures led,
His own loved flock beneath his eye is fed.
He guides, and near him they
Follow delighted, for he makes them go
Where dwells eternal May,
And heavenly roses blow,
Deathless, and gathered but again to grow.
He leads them to the height
Named of the infinite and long-sought Good,
And fountains of delight;
And where his feet have stood
Springs up, along the way, their tender food.
And when, in the mid skies,
The climbing sun has reached his highest bound,
Reposing as he lies,
With all his flock around,
He witches the still air with numerous sound.
From his sweet lute flow forth
Immortal harmonies, of power to still
All passions born of earth,
And draw the ardent will
Its destiny of goodness to fulfil.
Might but a little part,
A wandering breath of that high melody,
Descend into my heart,
And change it till it be
Transformed and swallowed up, oh love! in thee.
Ah! then my soul should know,
Beloved! where thou liest at noon of day,
And from this place of woe
Released, should take its way
To mingle with thy flock and never stray.
Life and light! Muse with the truth. Thanks for sharing this poem with us.
i read this interested in the allusions in it. the first part reminds me of the book of revelation. the end the song of solomon. two things stood out as odd—his use of the verb witching and his picturing the good shepherd, jesus, with a lute. from the second stanza blossoms white and red/ Round his meek temples cling stands out particularly as the original is credited to a military man. -gk
Very soft hearted and tender touching poem about the Good Shepherd, such beautiful words choice. TOP Marks Full for our Good Shepherd
A beautiful and sweet song about the shepherd and his flock. Only William Cullen Bryant could write this poem as beautifully as it did, really very beautifully Congratulations to the family of the late poet
Hi Glen again! ! Witches is an odd verb when you think of the thousands of references in the Bible about the evil of witchcraft. I can only suppose that he chopped the verb bewitched off for syllable purposes and used it for the meaning to captivate, entrance, enrapture, charm, delight, fascinate, enthrall. Still it was not the best word choice because of its strong ties to witchcraft. You sure made me think a lot, Glen! ! !
Hi again Glen- -the lute is a stickler- -could be the words Jesus spoke to us- -could also be the Holy Spirit he promises us which seems to go with the words of the next stanza. All in all it is a lovely poem about the Good Shepherd
Hi Glen- -Walks the good shepherd; blossoms white and red / Round his meek temples cling; - - I'm thinking that a crown of flowers has replaced the crown of thorns.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Such a great poem👍👍👍