Stanzas for the solstice

A very merry Yuletide to my friends online.

How swiftly does the day
whirl its fleeting charm away;
cut short bit by bit,
its hidden lamp it almost had put out.

The sky shines out in joy!
The happy earth rejoices too:
step by step the radiance
climbs once more towards its former bounds.

Aurelius Clemens Prudentius (348–after 405 CE)

from A Hymn for Christmas Day

trans. Gillian Spraggs


© Gillian Spraggs, 2005

( Original text )

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