I lived with visions for my company
instead of men and women, years ago,
and found them gentle mates, nor thought to know
a sweeter music than they played to me.
But soon their trailing purple was not free
of this world's dust, their lutes did silent grow,
and I myself grew faint and blind below
their vanishing eyes. Then thou didst come--to be,
beloved, what they seemed. Their shining fronts,
their songs, their splendours, (better, yet the same,
as river-water hallowed into fonts)
met in thee, and from out thee overcame
my soul with satisfaction of all wants :
Because God's gifts put man's best dreams to shame.

Živela sem v tovarištvu vizij,
ne fantov in deklet, in radovala
sem njihove se družbe, poslušala
njih petje, kot da lepših pesmi ni.
Kmalu škrlatne vlečke je prekril
zemeljski prah, umolknile so lutnje
in moje oči postale neobčutne
ko njihove. Prišel si ti in - bil
in spolnil predpodobo. Njih sijanje,
njih petje, obrazi (boljši, dasi isti,
ko v krstnem kamnu posvečena voda)
so v tebi. In od tvojega prihoda
dobi srce dovolj, da se nasiti,
saj kar da Bog, osramoti vse sanje.