Francisco de Aldana (1537?–1578)

Translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

O LORD! that seest, from yon starry height,

Centred in one the future and the past,

Fashioned in thine own image, see how fast

The world obscures in me what once was bright!

Eternal Sun! the warmth which thou hast given

To cheer life’s flowery April, fast decays;

Yet, in the hoary winter of my days,

For ever green shall be my trust in Heaven.

Celestial King! O let thy presence pass

Before my spirit, and an image fair

Shall meet that look of mercy from on high,

As the reflected image in a glass

Doth meet the look of him who seeks it there,

And owes its being to the gazer’s eye.