Jacopone Da Todi

“O Love, divine Love, why do You lay siege to me?In a frenzy of love for me, You find no rest.From five sides You move against me,Hearing, sight, taste, touch, and scent.To come out is to be caught; I cannot hide from You.If I come out through sight I see LovePainted in every form and color,Inviting me to come to You, to dwell in You.If I leave through the door of hearing,What I hear points only to You, Lord;I cannot escape Love through this gage.If I come out through taste, every flavor proclaims:"Love, divine Love, hungering Love!You have caught me on Your hook, for you want to reign in me."If I leave through the door of scentI sense You in all creation; You have caught meAnd wounded me through that fragrance.If I come out through the sense of touchI find Your lineaments in every creature;To try to flee from You is madness.Love, I flee from You, afraid to give You my heart:I see that You make me one with You,I cease to be me and can no longer find myself.If I see evil in a man or defect or temptation,You fuse me with him, and make me suffer;O Love without limits, who is it You love?It is You, O Crucified Christ,Who take possession of me,Drawing me out of the sea to the shore;There I suffer to see Your wounded heart.Why did You endure the pain?So that I might be healed.”

“What happens to the drop of wineThat you pour into the sea?Does it remain itself, unchanged?It is as if it never existed.So it is with the soul: Love drinks it in,It is united with Truth,Its old nature fades away,It is no longer master of itself.The soul wills and yet does not will:Its will belongs to Another.It has eyes only for this beauty;It no longer seeks to possess, as was its wont--It lacks the strength to possess such sweetness.The base of this highest of peaksIs founded on nichil,Shaped nothingness, made one with the Lord.”