Poem by Victoria Colonna

Blest union, that in heaven was ordained
In wondrous manner, to yield peace to man,
Which by the spirit divine and mortal frame
Is joined with sacred and with love-strong tie!
I praise the beauteous work, its author great;
Yet fain would see it moved by other hope,
By other zeal, before I change this form,
Since I no longer may enjoy it here.
The soul, imprisoned in this tenement,
Its bondage hates; and hence, distressed, it can
Neither live here, nor fly where it desires.
My glory then will be to see me joined
With the bright sun that lightened all my path;
For in his life alone I learned to live.