A Christmas Faggot/Magnificat
II.
MAGNIFICAT.
Earth’s noise God’s music supersedes.
Sin’s discord it excludes,
It tells us of a Lamb that bleeds,
And of a Dove that broods.
It tells us of a Child Who brings
The help that sets us free;
The song His Maiden-Mother sings
Of saved Humanity.
The Mother’s and Sister’s part
She plays; she leads the choir
Of those whose purity of heart
Is passionate desire.
Above the blood-encrimsoned sea,
Dispelling doubt and fear
With her celestial minstrelsy,
Our Miriam doth cheer
The men whose homeward-going hearts
Are loyal to their King;
When all from her have learnt their parts,
Then shall creation sing!
The sweetest of the Gospel songs,
To all the Saints so dear,
To every eventide belongs
Throughout the changeful year.
It sanctifies the vesper hour
When summer smiles serene;
It is a joy-constraining power
When winter blasts are keen.
'My soul doth magnify the Lord’—
Ecstatic is the voice
That sings of Paradise restored—
'My spirit doth rejoice!’
Pinzolo: 1882.