"Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria eius" -
Thus said a great man to his lady love
And made an order from a primal chaos
That came to him as visions from above.

The sky and earth, he said, are in her glory
And she, as their fulfillment and their fruit,
Lives in a novel and a painting - not a story -
And with her life all vileness does refute.

To be resplendent, kind and warm forever
While battling tragedy and unremitting wrong -
Oppression's bonds and falsehood to dissever
And still be lovely, elegant and strong:

The sky and earth are in her glory, truly:
And she is their fulfillment in this world -
To be sweet, gentle, wise, and to live fully -
The dreams made real, that had been once deferred:

Pleni sunt coeli and terra gloria eius -
Behold resplendence draped in human flesh!
Behold magnificence - beauty that dares -
And take her out of where she is enmeshed!

This flower of splendor - of the universe, really -
This Lara in the midst of manmade ills -
Staying on top of every course and feeling
With mind of roses, tulips, daffodils:

Mankind! See what can be and, in the darkness
Can find and spread and cultivate the light!
See this resplendent spirit, as she sparkles
For many years of an unending night!

Know what mankind can be - don't ask for saviors -
This as fulfillment, flower, of divine!
Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria eius -
A marvel and attainment of mankind!

Ilya Shambat
https://sites.google.com/site/ibshambatpoetry