Sunday, April 20, 2008

Regina Caeli, Jubila

Call it late, but I say "Hey, we're still in Paschaltide." Wherefore, in a new translation, here you have it.

O Queen of Heaven, joyful be;
Rejoice, O Mary!
The clouds defeated break and flee,
Alleluia!
Rejoice! rejoice, O Mary!

The One thou didst deserve to bear,
Rejoice, O Mary!
Arises now from Death's dark snare,
Alleluia!
Rejoice! rejoice, O Mary!

The darts of death are snapped in twain,
Rejoice, O Mary!
And Death by Jesus now lies slain,
Alleluia!
Rejoice! rejoice, O Mary!

Now comfort conquers bitterness,
Rejoice, O Mary!
Mourning gives place to happiness,
Alleluia!
Rejoice! rejoice, O Mary!

--Inés de Erausquin
April 20, 2008

3 comments:

Banshee said...

That's pretty good! I'll have to find some music and see how it sings. :)

Anonymous said...

It is very sing-songy (a good thing). In my Art & Politics class, we were recently reading Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Letter to d'Alembert on the Theatre. at one point, Rousseau concludes that a virtuous community's entertainment should be centered around public festivals, such as they had in his native Geneva. Your poem sounds like it would come in handy for just such a festival. By the way, what language was it originally written in?

PS: Thank you for continuing to hang around my blog even as it has devolved into a state of urban warfare. I just can't shake that slime World War Cheese. As Hank Scorpio said on The Simpsons, next time you're looking at my blog, "on your way out, if you want to kill somebody it would help me a lot". Heh heh heh!

Agnes Regina said...

Latin was the original language -- Regina caeli, jubila/Gaude, Maria/Jam pulsa cedunt nubila, Alleluia/Laetare, O Maria, and so on.

Thank you both. Maureen, there are a couple of tunes to "Be Joyful, Mary", a better-known translation, that also fit this one.