Classic Poem

Mother of God on high!
We kneel at thy feet, dear Maid and Mother,
Who hast borne us God for our very Brother.

Mother and Maid! we lie
Here at thy feet, who cry to thee, love thee:
Praising none but the Lord above thee.

Mother of God's Own Child!
We, who are called by His Name, belong to thee;
We, thy children, chanting our song to thee.

Mother! the days are wild:
Oh! let those arms, and that sweet smile, round us,
Cherish and guard, or our sins confound us.

Star of the Sea! we drive,
Drenched and drowned, 'mid the waves, that deride us;
Lost on the rocks, if thou shine not, and guide us.

How may we pass alive
Through the desert world, but with thee, the Rose of it?
By thy fragrance stayed, till the dim, parched, close of it.

Vine, and Lily, and Rose!
In His garden, lo! thy Beloved sets us:
Scorn not thou, though the earth forgets us.

Lady of Grief! unclose
Thy stricken soul to our souls, that cry to thee:
Stricken of grief, that grief may fly to thee.

Lady of Joys! though seven
Times seven are the charms of sin to beguile us,
Lost in thy charm, what sin shall defile us?

Lady and Queen of Heaven!
Here, on earth, we would serve before thee;
In thy very court at last to adore thee.

Mary, Mother and Queen!
Bring us at length, where the angels lean,
Choir on choir beneath thy grace;
Bring us all to that hidden place,
Where face to face thyself thou art seen: