The torch

THE TORCH

You, Who have lit our torch’s light,
disposes wet and shine,
so that the flame burns, thin and fine,
in Your all-seeing sight,

will rouse into a clearer shine
its glow, yet dim and blushing,
without a trace of smoky flickering,
and screen the feeble pine.

But if the wind of sin
blows venomously to its prey,
extinguish please the sooting light, which leads astray,
Yourself; let Your compassion win.

Then, pure in heart, in Your hands,
(Who lit the light and put it out in turn,)
the wood, so resinous, will burn
with such a sacred flame, on Your eternal strands.