Flame

Translated from the Spanish: O Llama del amor viva, by by St. John of the Cross.*
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O, flame of living love!
That brands my heart so tenderly
In its deepest core —
Don’t be coy any more!
Finish me already, if you want —
Rip through the sticky web to this sweet meeting.

O, gentle, healing
Gift of a wound!
Your soft hand knocks and
Unfolds all eternity,
All debts paid off
In the extinction that swaps out death for life.

O, lamplighter!
Whose brilliant torch lights up
The deepest grottos of the senses
That were so dark and blind
Shining your outrageous beauty —
So hot! So bright! Joined with your beloved!

So quietly and lovingly
You settle in my breast
Where, in secret, you alone abide.
And with your delicious breath
Rich with goodness and glory,
How delicately you make love to me!

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*St. John of the Cross (San Juan de la Cruz) was born June 24, 1542 at Fontiveras, Spain, a small village near Avila. He was a Carmelite friar, a mystic and a leading figure in the Catholic Reformation. Along with his friend and mentor, St. Teresa of Avila, he was one of the founders of the Discalced (Reformed) Carmelite order.  He died December 14, 1591.