Song of the ascent of Mount Carmel
What good fortune for me found this poem by Saint John of the Cross in Spanish and English translations? O frabjous day!
In yn noeth yscyr,
cu llo ddesir in afur ifflamad,
a ffadad wenhyr!
eo selif seint esser nodad
ystan ia mew gas sescad.
In a dark night,
with longings in love inflamed,
o lucky good-fortune!
I went-out without being noticed
standing yet my house silenced
A-dd yscyrdad e segyr
per llo segruid radd, asconed
a ffadad wenhyr!
a-dd yscyrdad e-dd i ngelad,
ystan ia mew gas sescad.
to darkness and safe
for the secret steps, disguised
o lucky good-fortune!
to darkness and in hiding
standing yet my house silenced
I lla noeth ffadad,
i segruid, ke negyn mi widdaf,
rhen eo ngathaf yn gos,
seint alltr lyg e gwidadur
ysceth lla ghe in ill cor ardd
In the lucky night,
in secret, that none saw me,
not I observed a thing,
without other light and guide
except she that in the heart burns
Yst fi widaf
ply gerth ke lla lyg di medddiwrn
a llog k'yno mi ysperaf
ki eo fen fi sabef
i mherth llog ke negyn affaraf
this saw me
more certain than the light of midday
where one awaited me
who I well myself knew
in where none appeared
O noeth ke gwidaf,
o, noeth afewl ply che lla alforad,
o, noeth ke yngef
ill Afant cu lla Afant,
lla Affant in ill Afant trasfforfad
O night that guided,
oh, night delightful more than the dawn,
oh, night that joined
the lover with the lover,
the lover in the lover transformed
I mew peith ffloridd,
k'inheir per llo sul si warddaf,
llā cuidaf dorfid,
e-dd eo llo ddiwerthaf
e'll gwenhagl di llo geddr aer dunaf
In my florid chest,
that whole for him alone guarded itself,
there remained asleep,
and I entertained him
and the fan of the ceders gave air
Lla aer di lla fen,
can ia sew chebil h-ysparyaf
cu sew fan seruin
i mew coll fferif
e few senhid thud suspenef
The air of the battlements,
when yet his hair scattered
with his clear hand
in my neck struck
and all my senses suspended
Cuidaf mi e-dd ôlid mi,
ill rhostr rhiglinaf subr ill Afant,
calfath tud, e fi laesaf,
llaesan mi llo choidad
intr llo lleil ôlidad
Remained me and forgot me,
the face reclined on the lover,
stopped all, and left me,
leaving me the cares
among the forgotten lilies