| Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867. | | | | III. The Good Shepherd | | By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) |
| | From the Spanish of Lope de Vega
SHEPHERD! that with thine amorous, sylvan song | |
| Hast broken the slumber which encompassed me,— | |
| That mad’st thy crook from the accurséd tree, | |
| On which thy powerful arms were stretched so long! | |
| Lead me to mercy’s ever-flowing fountains; | 5 |
| For thou my shepherd, guard, and guide shall be; | |
| I will obey thy voice, and wait to see | |
| Thy feet all beautiful upon the mountains. | |
| Hear, Shepherd!—thou who for thy flock art dying, | |
| O, wash away these scarlet sins, for thou | 10 |
| Rejoicest at the contrite sinner’s vow. | |
| O, wait!—to thee my weary soul is crying,— | |
| Wait for me!—Yet why ask it, when I see, | |
| With feet nailed to the cross, thou ’rt waiting still for me! | | | | |
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