The Virgin in Prayer

The Virgin Mary in Prayer (1650) by Giovanni Salvi da Sassoferrato

O’ Queen of Heaven, robed in royalty,

Holy Mother, who wears the blood of her son,

Mary, Most Immaculate, with veil white as wool,

What I see of thou is all I need—

Thy face and thy hands.

Who could fail to find, both then and now,

Thy features fair upon the face of God

Who delights to share thy beauty,

The flush of pious passion

Borne in silent sorrow.

In thy yes, all things come together

As the fingers of thy suppliant hands

Through which thee gaze ever deeper 

To earth, to the Church, to me,

To beads held tenderly.