| Higginson and Bigelow, comps. American Sonnets. 1891. | | | | On a Picture of the Magdalene Asleep | | By George Washington Bethune (1805–1862) |
| | | THY tears are dried, sweet penitent; no more | |
| Abandoned on the ground we see thee lie, | |
| The precious word of life beneath thine eye, | |
| Searching the sacred record o’er and o’er | |
| To find His grace for sins thy thoughts deplore, | 5 |
| Who came for lost ones such as thee to die. | |
| —Thou art forgiven.—’Neath a smiling sky, | |
| E’en as thou didst with upward face adore, | |
| (The holy Cross clasped closely to thy breast,) | |
| Sleep has come o’er thee, worn and wearied | 10 |
| By anxious vigils; yet in slumber blest, | |
| Heaven’s radiant glory circles round thy head, | |
| Filling thy soul with visions of that rest | |
| Where e’en repentance has no tears to shed! | | | | |
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