St. Wagner’s Eve
July 5, 2023Sonnet XXVIII: Soul-Light
July 5, 2023Sonnet XXXV: The Lamp’s Shrine
Sometimes I fain would find in thee some fault,
That I might love thee still in spite of it:
Yet how should our Lord Love curtail one whit
Thy perfect praise whom most he would exalt?
Alas! he can but make my heart’s low vault
Even in men’s sight unworthier, being lit
By thee, who thereby show’st more exquisite
Like fiery chrysoprase in deep basalt.
Yet will I nowise shrink; but at Love’s shrine
Myself within the beams his brow doth dart
Will set the flashing jewel of thy heart
In that dull chamber where it deigns to shine:
For lo! in honour of thine excellencies
My heart takes pride to show how poor it is.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) was an English poet, painter, and founding member of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. His works, such as "The Blessed Damozel" and "Sister Helen," explored themes of love, death, and the supernatural. Rossetti was also a talented artist and designed many of the Pre-Raphaelite movement's most famous works.