Favorite Poetry: Catholic Hymn

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Catholic Hymn

by Edgar Allan Poe

Sancta Maria!  Turn thine eyes

Upon the sinner's sacrifice

Of fervent prayer and humble love,

From thy holy throne above.

At morn, at noon, at twilight dim

Maria!  thou hast heard my hymn.
In joy and wo, in good and ill

Mother of God! be with us still.

When my hours flew gently by,

And no storms were in the sky,

My soul, lest it should truant be - 

Thy love did guide to thine and thee.

Now when clouds of Fate o'ercast

All my Present, and my Past,

Let my Future radiant shine 

With sweet hopes of thee and thine.

NOTES: "wo" is not a typo.  That's the way Poe wrote it, and apparently it's just a shortened form of "woe", though why he couldn't put the e on the end is beyond me.

Poe was not a Catholic.  This poem is recited by one of his characters in a story.  It's very interesting to study Poe's Catholic sympathies, though.  I've been looking it up on the internet.

Hope you liked this poem!