Poem by Henry Constable

To St. Mary Magdalen

SUCH as, retired from sight of men, like thee
    By penance seek the joys of heaven to win, 
    In deserts make their paradise begin 
    And even among wild beasts do angels see, 
In such a place my soul doth seem to be,
    When in my body she laments her sin 
    And none but brutal passions finds therein, 
    Except they be sent down from heaven to me. 
Yet if those graces God to me impart
    Which he inspired thy blessed breast withal, 
    I may find haven in my retired heart; 
And if thou change the object of my love,
    The winged affection which men Cupid call 
    May get his sight, and like an angel prove. 

1. To the Marquess of Piscat's Soul
2. H.C. to the Gentleman Reader
3. Of the Nativity of the Lady Rich's Daughter
4. To the Blessed Sacrament
5. The Shepherd's Venus and Adonis

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