The Virgin of Sparta

Not of Pentelic marble nor of brass

shall I erect Thy deathless idol, but

from a tall column made of cypress wood

so may my work be fragrant throughout the ages.

And on that hill which wears like a tall crown

an old Venetian castle, I shall build

a massive church, and in it lock Thee fast

with mighty adamantine gates of iron!

Bells that shall bellow forth as if a shield

were struck by sword or sharp spearhead Tl raise

up high, and others higher, like a sistrum.

To shade Thee, from each window I shall match

crystals of many colors and deep tone,

and may each one of them be an embrasurel