Prayer to the Light

Prayer to the Light  

by José María Pemán  

Spanish poet (1897-1981)

Translated from the Spanish by Roberto Hope

My Lord: I know that in the limpid morning
of this world, Thy generous right hand
the light made before anything else
so that all things their figure could display.

I know that they reflect Thee,
the immortal outlines of the rose and lily
better than the inebriated and disturbing
music made by the winds up in the welkin.

That is why I proclaim Thee in the cold
thinking, exactly to the truth subjected
and on the bank, without the river stirring

for all this, still and quiet, I adore Thee 
and for this, oh my Lord, my pain and sorrow
so they can reach Thee, turned into a sonnet.